Following an October community meeting that saw many attendees push back on proposed data center development, Prince George’s County has released a new report concluding that data centers will be welcomed in the county, but only under certain circumstances and with more community input.
The 400-plus-page report proposes 14 recommendations, including one that calls on data centers to be steered toward industrial zones and away from populated areas. Those special exceptions will add layers to the approval process, resulting in more hearings and more chances for community input that could slow down or even stop projects from moving forward if there’s enough opposition.
At the Oct. 25 community meeting, county residents filled the Sports and Learning Complex, in Landover, with many expressing fierce opposition to plans that could transform the county’s landscape.
The overflow crowd came amid mounting controversy over a $5 billion proposal to build five data centers on the former Landover Mall site, a project that has divided county leaders over whether tax revenue justifies potential impacts on electricity rates, water resources and air quality.
The original format of the meeting divided participants into small groups to discuss predetermined topics, with responses written on Post-it notes rather than spoken publicly.
Janessa Harris, who lives near the proposed Landover site off Route 202, said her group was first asked about data center aesthetics. “I think it’s odd that they want us to be concerned with aesthetics, rather than the environmental impacts, the health impacts,” Harris said at the meeting. “As you can tell, a lot of residents don’t want it at all. We want it to look like nothing.”
During another meeting segment, residents were asked to identify common concerns and mitigation strategies.
“The first question is, ‘How could these concerns be addressed or mitigated?’” Harris said. “If people are saying they don’t want the data center here, because of these concerns, there’s really no other way to address or mitigate it other than just listening to the residents.”
Eventually, the meeting took an unexpected turn when residents rejected the planned small-group format and demanded to speak publicly. Jumoke Ayodeji, attending her first meeting after following the county’s Qualified Data Center Task Force for months, said the community meeting framed the issue as predetermined and that the Post-it notes could not reflect community sentiments accurately. “The way they framed it was like, yes, very much, ‘This is already decided, this is planned out. Now how can we get the community on board with us?’” Ayodeji said.
The county’s data center task force has been studying the risks and benefits of allowing data centers in the county since July. After the Oct. 25 community meeting, the task force met on Oct. 29 and on Nov. 12 — before presenting its recommendations to the County Council in November.
“By identifying the major community concerns and highlighting industry best practices and case studies from similar jurisdictions, this report seeks to align public sentiments to policy recommendations that effectively meet the needs and priorities of the community while still providing space for economic development and industry growth within the County,” the task force noted in the executive summary.
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Zaka Hossain is a graduate journalism student at the University of Maryland.