Frederick City and County News of Interest VOL. 4, NO. 11 | November 11, 2025

 

VOL. 4, NO. 11  |  November 11, 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 Elections City: Just Say NO to Data Centers in the City City and County: Data center e-waste — a problem that can’t be ignored City and County: Data centers and state budgets study: are tax benefits “smoke and mirrors”? City: Planning Committee Workshop Highlights East Street Traffic Woes City: Brickworks Contaminant Update County: Data Center Overlay County: Data Center Intrusions County: MPRP Transmission Line Upcoming Meetings and Events ______________ City: Elections At press time, official results of Frederick’s 2025 Mayoral and City Council elections have not been finalized. However, it appears that the Democratic candidate for each office will be victorious by a wide margin. CRG will explore the plusses, minuses, and challenges of this outcome in our December newsletter. City: Just Say NO to Data Centers in the City  On October 23 and November 6, the City’s Land Use, Public Safety, and Community Development Legislative Committee met and, disappointingly, City Council President Katie Nash proposed a revision to the Land Management Code (LMC) to allow data centers in the City. This proposal appears to go significantly beyond what the County has put forward, potentially opening City residents to the noise, emissions, stormwater runoff, children’s public health threats, and hazardous chemicals (diesel, coolant water biocides, corrosion by-products). Rationale for this unilateral proposal is unclear and concerning. At present, the LMC does not allow such use and it’s hard to accept the reasoning behind introducing a text amendment that details the conditions under which one can be built. Nash's proposal opens Pandora’s Box to data center construction and operations without resolving all the power, water, resident concerns, property value declines, etc. that have consumed 2+ years of data center discussions at the County’s Planning Commission and Council. Residents have been outspoken in their pleas to not follow the poor examples of community detriments experienced by our Loudoun County, VA neighbors as well as many, many communities across the U.S. The ever-popular rationalization of “think of the economic windfall” is misleading at best as it fails to mention the decrease in property values, the increase in electric and water bills, and the cost burden of the needed infrastructure which will fall on the shoulders of current homeowners. The incoming City Council, whose term commences December 11,2025, will need to approve any change to the LMC. CRG’s position is that this conversation shouldn’t even move forward as, again, data centers are not allowed in the City. Why go through the efforts of identifying ways to bring them in, unless there is something CRG and other blindsided residents are missing? We are confident, though, that if this somehow moves forward the new legislative body will step up and just say NO — not in City limits. If for some reason the text amendment is approved by the current City Council, any future data center projects will not be revisited by the incoming Council; that responsibility will be transferred to the City’s Planning Commission (see links below to documents provided to committee members). 1 Executive Summary Form Data Center Taxes and Revenue_20251106  2 Data Center Revenue Barkdoll Comment  Note that Adamstown residents have repeatedly emphasized how attractive the community and surrounding area were to entice residents to move to the area. With the data center expansion proposed for the Eastalco site, the area is unappealing now with charm and vistas lost. Livability has been severely eroded. Do we want the same outcome for ‘livable’ Frederick? We should be concerned that a City impact could far outreach the immediate neighborhood and affect the community as a whole. City and County: Data center e-waste — a problem that can’t be ignored As the County and City contemplate data center development, it’s worth considering the problem of electronic waste (e-waste) because data centers produce a lot of it. A quick look at the available reporting on the subject reveals a large and growing problem that must be addressed. It is not impossible to address, but the problem does provide another reason to significantly slow the building of data centers so solutions can be put in place. These links provide more information: https://medium.com/@celions/the-hidden-environmental-cost-of-data-center-growth-millions-of-tons-of-e-waste-0bb4a18dbaa1 https://ncsglobalinc.com/insights/e-waste-in-data-centers/ https://www.human-i-t.org/data-center-recycling/#:~:text=Refurbishing%20and%20 Excerpt from a Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) article in December 2024: While discussions about data centers’ energy consumption and environmental impact are widespread, far less attention has been given to the mounting problem of electronic waste (e-waste) generated by these facilities. Servers and GPUs, essential to data center operations, are typically replaced every 2–5 years, producing millions of tons of outdated equipment — more than 80% of which is discarded. A recently published Nature study warned that generative AI alone could contribute an additional 1.2–5 million tons of annual e-waste, posing serious environmental and health risks globally.   E-waste recycling and handling are poorly regulated, with limited infrastructure to support circular practices. Privacy and security concerns often prompt companies to destroy outdated hardware rather than reuse or recycle it. Addressing this growing issue requires a better understanding of its scale, societal impacts, and systemic gaps. ________ Let your elected officials know if you’re concerned about this issue.   City and County: Data centers and state budgets study: Are tax benefits “smoke and mirrors”? A recent Baltimore Banner article detailing the growth of data centers in Maryland included reference to a report by a nonpartisan nonprofit, Good Jobs First, that is worth reading. Here is a link to the report, and an excerpt from the Banner article: https://goodjobsfirst.org/cloudy-with-a-loss-of-spending-control-how-data-centers-are-endangering-state-budgets/ Excerpt: “Data centers create tax base without creating a lot of demand for public services,” said economist Anirban Basu during a business panel discussion at The Banner’s Impact Maryland event this week. But the tax benefits might be smoke and mirrors, some say. Most data centers are awarded tax exemptions on sales taxes in favor of property taxes. That’s already the case in Maryland. Good Jobs First, a nonpartisan nonprofit watchdog on tax subsidies and incentives, found in a report in April that at least 10 of 32 states with data centers have lost more than $100 million per year in tax revenue from these facilities. The loss stems from exemptions on sales and use taxes for some of the necessary and most expensive components of a data center. “If Maryland were to exempt sales taxes, but let local governments tax on property taxes, there’d be a net loss and kind of a shell game within the state,” said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First. ________ You can read the full Banner article here: Massive data centers invaded Virginia — and Maryland wants to be next   City: Planning Committee Workshop Highlights East Street Traffic Woes An 18-unit townhouse complex is planned for 200–220 N. East Street, site of the former model train museum. The project was a key discussion item at the PC workshop on October 20. Of interest is the design which, according to neighbors who spoke in favor of the site plan, seems to “fit” at least loosely with the form-based code concept for the East Street corridor. This configuration is a compromise between the initial proposal — a 5–6 story multi-family structure — and rehabilitation of the railroad museum complex.  While PC members applauded the project design and placement of the garages off Austin Alley (adhering to the downtown design guidelines of no street-facing garages), of concern is entry to the planned garages off the busy and narrow N. East Street across from Pistarro’s. The alley is located between 2 traffic lights at east 2nd and 3rd streets. Imagine trying to turn left from N. East Street opposite Pistarro’s with southbound East Street traffic behind you and northbound traffic from a green light at E. 2nd coming at you — a NIGHTMARE! Traffic here is already congested with traffic slow-to-stopped several times a day and now this turning need added to the traffic expected from Galleria, the downtown hotel and conference center, Visitation, and Brickworks — WOW! Access and egress (according to many who travel this route) would be far better from E. 3rd Street, which would be unfortunate for residents of that thoroughfare.  So, while the project itself appears suitable for the neighborhood, it is a strong example in favor of preventing the City from issuing construction permits due to likely traffic problems on an already-overused corridor — and a caution to the City to more keenly assess each project in relation to the development on surrounding streets rather than as a unique entity. CRG urges the City Council to adopt and enforce stronger traffic requirements for our narrow and most-traveled streets such that any identified obstacles to traffic flow in an area that will endanger normal and continuous flow patterns, even if slow, can be used to reject proposed development.  Another proposal for the East Street corridor is likely to add to traffic woes. On the agenda at the October 20 Planning Commission meeting was the site plan for Harmon Park (which is proposed to become part of a 6.9-acre community park). This area expands Harmon Park as it connects to the existing Brickworks property along the west side of East Street. Positive features are tennis, pickleball and basketball courts, a (possible) tot lot, a (possible) dog park, and walking paths. Parking will be available with access on Winchester Street (although as some workshop attendees pointed out the parking lot has other dedicated uses). This expansion of Harmon Park satisfies a portion of the Brickworks promised green space. However — and that's a big however — a primary pedestrian access from the Brickworks to the park is a surface-level crosswalk across East Street (and north of the traffic circle) with an island between the north and south traffic lanes — we guess for the folks who are too slow to cross East Street in a single attempt. The proposed crosswalk will not have a traffic light but will include flashing lights. What? Aside from the fact that any pedestrian walkway across East Street is an accident waiting to happen, many Brickworks residents will be unable to fast walk across the street while traffic is barreling down on them. CRG hopes cars and trucks will stop, allowing parents with children toddling or in strollers, less-mobile adults and others walking slowly and carefully, etc. to cross safely. We fear this is another traffic tie up in the making.   City: Brickworks Contaminant Update On October 29, Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) staff members from its Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) convened a meeting to outline proposed soil contaminant cleanup plans for lots 4 (grocery, retail, and parking) and 6 (townhomes, garages) of the Brickworks property between Monocacy Boulevard and East and South Streets. A consulting firm (Geo-Technology Associates, Inc.) for the owners presented a comprehensive overview of historical and recent soil measurements and indicated most of the areas would be capped or filled and capped to prevent exposure to soil contaminants from historical land uses of the property. CRG is pleased with the proposed soil remedies and takes a few bows: If we had not pressed the City and the developer for addressing the well-documented contamination over 3 years ago, the City would have allowed site development without any remediation, thereby exposing future residents of the property to contaminants endangering their health for decades. Now we hope that the new Council will revise the Land Management Code (LMC) to require brownfield mitigation before any development can occur (e.g., the Galleria and Train Museum properties) and several CRG members have received emails from Council members that such a LMC revision is under Planning Department review and write-up for adoption by the new Council. County: Data Center Overlay As we have reported for the past 18 months, County officials have been debating the extent of data center development in and around the 2200-acre Eastalco site near Adamstown. In the recent Planning Commission meeting, the members recommended reduction of the Eastalco site to approximate 1700 acres but allowed for possible expansion for two large adjacent farms approximating 550 acres. As a plus for local residents, twenty-three other properties (homes, St. Joseph’s church, and an elementary school) were recommended for inclusion in the County Community Growth Area to ensure access to water and sewer infrastructure. It remains to be seen what the County Council will adopt. There is still no resolution of power nor water supplies to the data center properties yet the County Executive and Council continue to move forward, largely with only modest requirements for noise abatement, emission reductions, neighbor property and well protections, hazard control plans, reimbursements for property value losses, and stormwater controls at the centers. CRG STRONGLY suggests that identifying power and water supply, and treatment following data center use, as well as a thorough independent review of costs and benefits of data centers be implemented BEFORE any more data center corporations apply for construction and operation in the County or its municipalities.  County: Data Center Intrusions At a special Town Hall meeting (October 20), Council Members Kavonte Duckett, Mason Carter, and Steve McKay heard Adamstown residents describe the issues they are having with dust, noise, and traffic during the construction of the Rowan data centers. Prior to the meeting, the Council members toured several farms and saw firsthand the proximity of the data centers to some homes. County: MPRP Transmission Line (from StopMPRP) On October 9, 2025, PSEG Renewable Transmission LLC filed its third federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. It was confirmed that service of the lawsuit has begun — property owners named in the complaint are starting to receive legal papers. If you are among those being served, please accept delivery. Refusing delivery does not change your status as a respondent. Upcoming Meetings and Events Citywide Planning Department Community Outreach Meeting — November 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM

See the CRG blog at: responsiblegrowthfrederick.com Contributors: P. Gallagher, S. Jakubczyk, E. Law, M. Rosensweig, K. Sellner. 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!