Frederick City and County News of Interest VOL. 4, NO. 1 | JANUARY 6, 2025

 

VOL. 4, NO. 1  |  JANUARY 6, 2025 Frederick City and County News of Interest Please join our monthly email list by clicking here. Learn more about CRG at the bottom of this newsletter. For quick access, click on a title here and jump to that article, below: City: A New Look for City Governance in 2025 City: Winchester Update County: Data Center Update / Water County: Water Resources Element Report Upcoming Meetings & Events ______________ City: A New Look for City Governance in 2025 Happy New Year to all! Looking forward to 2025, we here at CRG are reflecting on the progress made during 2024 as well as the opportunities and challenges for the coming year. Certainly, a major challenge — for CRG and all City residents — is how to assess and respond to the changes in City government resulting from approval of the recommended Charter Amendments which includes the separation of local government into distinct executive and legislative branches. The Mayor will lead and guide the former and an expanded City Council the latter. As an aside, we note with pride that community residents, comprising the majority of the ad hoc Charter Review committee members, were instrumental in formulating the adopted recommendations which will guide us all through the 21st century. Although we are not in the business of endorsing candidates, we certainly hope the elected mayor and 7 council members (5 district and 2 at–large) are as invested as we are in “responsible growth” — our guiding principle. To that end, we highlight here our guiding vision, and pose questions for our readers and others to ask the candidates so that you can determine who, from your perspective, is most closely aligned with your vision for the City’s growth and development. First, the vision as we state on our blog: CRG is a grassroots coalition of Frederick residents who prioritize responsible growth, expanding infrastructure, and a functional natural environment. We advocate for development that accommodates projected population increases while fostering a strong and diverse community fabric and increasing economic opportunities. Our comprehensive approach emphasizes public safety, traffic mitigation, increasing school capacity, and housing for all members of our community. Based on that vision, we will ask (and ask you to do so, as well) each candidate to tell City residents: What are the most important considerations to assure adequate affordable housing in the City? Which comes first — growth or infrastructure to accommodate said growth? If a candidate’s response focuses on growth first, ask how the City will deal with the inevitable traffic, school, and water/sewer problems. The City continues to annex properties outside the current City boundary, with neither long-range assessments of long-term cost recovery nor school construction requirements. How does the candidate stand on the short-term increase in property tax revenue vs. long-term costs that exceed the short-term tax gains as well as school construction that is not required of the developer? What steps can the City take to mitigate flooding, damage to older homes, rental properties, and health issues arising in individuals or families with limited incomes from water damage? How can the County control the inevitable data center development/operations and the impact on the community’s electricity, water, neighbors’ properties and wells, local streams, etc.? How will you and other council members work with the County to advance much-needed school construction in light of significant state budget deficits that will affect the Maryland Blueprint? How can you assure that new development in the historic district honors its unique character? During the campaign, which will culminate in a September 2025 primary and a November general (City) election, CRG plans to hold informal candidate forums as often as possible with as many candidates interested in participating. We will also attend forums sponsored by other organizations and by the candidates themselves to ask these, and other, questions to more clearly understand where the candidates stand on the issues. We urge you to do the same. A final plea. One of the most critical open issues is the need for serious and qualified candidates to step forward and run for the 8 elected offices (mayor and 7 council members). With districting now in place (pending only boundary details), no longer will one section of the City be the dominant voice at the table. For true accountability and representation, the primary ballot should reflect several candidates for City Council from each district, with the primary qualification being residence in the district a candidate wishes to represent! The recent Charter revisions require an “all in” approach by City residents. Without a spirited commitment in each district, there is a risk of non- or under-representation by an unopposed candidate who doesn't reflect the overall values and needs of the majority of the district’s community. Information on how to register, along with additional details, can be found on the City website or by contacting the City clerk, Phyliss Hane (click for her email address).   City: Winchester Update As mentioned in a recent Frederick News Post article, on December 12, 2024 the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) approved a motion by Commissioner Anne Hart that the Winchester site as a whole (including the on-site house and stable/garage) is Historically Contributing. This was a very favorable turn of events and again, as in the neighbor-led opposition to construction of a Hood NCAA baseball field in the Max Kehne Memorial Park, neighborhood residents acting together can challenge and alter proposed City developments that exclude resident opinions and interests!   For the Winchester site, it’s looking good that both the house and the stable/garage on the site will be preserved and the applicant’s demolition request denied. However, the Commission’s discussion, and their formal vote on the developer’s demolition request, still must take place. These proceedings are scheduled for this Thursday, January 9, 2025 at the 6 PM HPC Hearing at City Hall. Despite the positive developments from December 12, there may yet be surprises, and the local community is taking nothing for granted. Verbal comments at the January 9 hearing, as well as written comments in advance to City staff (for forwarding on to the Commission), are very welcome. Please contact Jim Wagner (click for his email address) or 301-682-4836 for more information. Thank you for your continued engagement and help to save this site and its contribution to City character. And on that point regarding City character: We suggest you check out a Letter to the Editor (LTE) in the Frederick News Post (FNP) written in response to a recent newspaper Board of Contributors column challenging the CRG position regarding the trend towards “contemporary” architecture in the Historic District (https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/group-will-advocate-for-protecting-established-identity/article_3002a8ff-755d-5eb9-a962-967c28562e63.html). At CRG, we firmly believe in smart, measured growth and development but, as was asserted by two of our members in the letter, it is incumbent on the City and its planners to cherish (as we do) and preserve the historical context and expression of our downtown by following City documents (the Frederick Towne Historic District Design Guidelines and the 2020 Comprehensive Plan) as well as guidance from national experts and organizations.  County: Data Center Update / Water In a surprise decision for everyone involved in development of the Eastalco site near Adamstown, Quantum Loophole (QL) will no longer be leading preparation of the property for future data center construction and operations (https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/quantum_loophole/updated-quantum-loophole-removed-as-manager-developer-of-its-data-center-projects/article_27636b9e-846e-5f1d-9ed1-a3fe4b8bea83.html). The decision has resolved differences between QL’s activities on the site and those expected from QL’s major financial backer TPG (a global asset manager). As a result, QL is withdrawing from its primary management role for the property. Water issues must be dealt with right away. Consequences of this dramatic change are unknown at this time, but an important consideration will be the commitment QL made to building water recycling infrastructure to supply future cooling water for prospective Eastalco data centers, which must remain a priority — there is insufficient water, otherwise, for center operations. This must be resolved quickly, as the County Planning Commission has accepted the proposed site plan for two data center projects at the Eastalco property near Adamstown. The projects — owned by Rowan Digital Infrastructure — are called Bauxite II and III, and include 7 data center buildings on the property. The potable water usage Rowan has proposed for its data centers alone is the maximum allowed for the entire Eastalco property, implying that any future center applications will require identification of other sources, such as the QL proposal for the non-potable water recycling infrastructure noted above. CRG joins the Sugarloaf Alliance and the Fellowship of Scientists and Engineers to encourage the County Executive to quickly revise the County’s Critical Data Infrastructure ordinance (CDI) so that the now-accepted 11 data center buildings (the 7 above plus 4 for the Align computing campus) at the Eastalco site will be bound by the more comprehensive requirements proposed by the County’s Data Center Workgroup and multiple other organizations. Otherwise, inadequate protections for County residents, water supplies, adjacent neighbors, and the area’s environment will prevail if those properties permitted under weak regulations are ‘grandfathered’ to only follow the regulations under which they were permitted, and not the more rigorous requirements likely needed, as we learn more about data center operation impacts that will be identified in future years. See Events list below for upcoming presentations and hearings on the County's Critical Data Infrastructure Ordinance. County: Water Resources Element Report In an additional County project relevant to data centers, County staff have also drafted a state-mandated Water Resources Element report, a comprehensive summary of water usage now and into the future for the County. Unfortunately, the report has largely ignored water demand by data centers. On December 17, at least 3 Council members and 4–5 residents asked County staff multiple questions about likely underestimates of water demand by centers on the Eastalco site and potentially elsewhere in the County where the IWW (Investing in Workers & Workplaces advisory group) has identified other possible areas for potential center development and operations. CRG congratulates County Council members focusing on future water demand and possible County intervention to revise the CDI ordinance by this water-thirsty industry. CRG hopes Council commitment expands well beyond a minority of 3 members to a unanimous agreement on specific water use requirements that data centers must meet to begin operations in the County. Upcoming Meetings & Events County Council, January 7, 2025, Winchester Hall, 7 PM — Information/presentation for revised Critical Data Infrastructure ordinance, Water Resources Element hearing (https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/15600) City Historic Preservation Commission, January 9, 2025, City Hall, 6 PM — Demolition of contributing historical house and barn/stable at 127 E. 6th Street, Frederick. Agenda here: https://www.cityoffrederickmd.gov/920/City-Archived-Meetings County Council, January 28, 2025, Winchester Hall, 7 PM — Critical Data Infrastructure ordinance hearing Mobilize Frederick 3rd Annual Climate Summit, February 28–March 1, 2025, Hood College (https://www.mobilizefrederick.org/summit-2025-overview)

__________________ See the CRG blog at: responsiblegrowthfrederick.com Contributors: P. Gallagher, S. Jakubczyk, M. Rosensweig, K. Sellner, J. Wagner CRG is a grassroots coalition of Frederick residents who prioritize responsible growth, expanding infrastructure, and a functional natural environment. We advocate for development that accommodates projected population increases while fostering a strong and diverse community fabric and increasing economic opportunities. Our comprehensive approach emphasizes public safety, traffic mitigation, increasing school capacity, and housing for all members of our community. Many Frederick residents want to know — but cannot find — information about how to participate in discussions of important local issues. The City and County generally hold meetings from 3–10 p.m., making it impossible for most of us to attend meetings or weigh in on issues of interest. Our mission with this monthly newsletter is to highlight City and County activities so you can learn more and, with your limited time, weigh in on areas of growth and development, City and County policies, and other local activities. Occasionally, opinions or longer stories will be offered by knowledgeable experts/readers. We welcome suggestions for articles focused on specific topics. Contact Kevin Sellner (kgsellner@gmail.com), Marge Rosensweig (marjorierosensweig@gmail.com), or Steve Jakubczyk (jakubczyksteven@gmail.com) for consideration of your issue. We're on Instagram... follow us! Check out our Facebook page!