Neighbors are being alerted to a pre- application public meting about a 1.8 Megawatt community solar installation 17700 Barnesville Road in Barnesville and two other installations: 16050 Barnesville Road, Boyds  and  18925 Barnesville Road, Dickerson


The meeting will be on zoom on October 10 at 6:30pm.

Please RSVP by calling or sending an email to Morgan Abramson at (301) 961-8661 or at
[email protected].

See the full information here. 

​ZTA 21-02 made provision for this size of array to be located in the Reserve on Class 3 soils and above. We will await particulars about this specific proposal but it is an example of a solar developer going through the established conditional use process at the county level and providing opportunities for the public to understand the project in advance.

This is in stark contrast to another solar developer who is sidestepping local provisions that balance solar and faming in the Reserve and taking a proposal for solar on prime soils to the state. 
​

​The drought that has been hindering the region (and especially farmers) throughout the summer only briefly abated when the remnants of Hurricane Debby came through dropping several inches of rain in just a few days. We are back in the red, with no rain forecasted soon. 

This is troubling region wide but particularly in rural areas that rely on wells - no reservoir can be tapped to replenish groundwater. 

MCA has undertaken a research and outreach program for the county's water resources. Check out the "Good Gift" campaign. 

You can help - please take 10 minutes to answer anonymous questions about your well and local groundwater supplies. 

Related: How to Conserve water at home
​The Good Gift in PLENTY Magazine

Update: Data Center Emissions Exemption Passes MCA with partners opposed a bill in the General Assembly that would allow diesel generators of any size, and quantity in any location to provide backup power to data centers without oversight of the Public Service Commission. With the addition of a provision to provide 15% of tax revenues from this novel land use to fund environmental protection, the bill passed before the end of the session. Learn More. 

Related: WaPo: Internet data centers are fueling drive to old power source: Coal
Grist: The Surging Demand for Data is Guzzling Virginia's Water Supply

Montgomery County Data Center Updates: 
Currently no regulatory framework exists in the state or county to govern data centers. County Executive Elrich is now working with the county climate change officer to establish one in MoCo. The first step is researching best practices in use nationally and globally for sustainably meeting the outsized needs for water, land and power of this unique use.  (Iceland, for example)
MCA continues to collaborate with the owners of the Terra Energy facility proposed for the former Pepco plant to advocate for care in siting and operation of these centers along the Potomac. 

Quantum Loophole continues to run afoul of MDE rules - The Frederick News Post reports a stop work order was issued for a drilling project in Frederick County for the fiberoptic cable loop stretching from Adamstown across to "Data Center Alley" in Virginia. The contractor was drilling without telling the county and may have released drilling materials into underground water aquifers. To link the two updates - Quantum Loophole at full buildout will use power equivalent to 400,000 homes (12 Fredericks or 4 Baltimores).

Frederick County Data Center Workgroup Report Released
from our partners at Sugarloaf Alliance:
"The Frederick County Data Centers Workgroup (DCWG) released its final report on March 1 (read the text here). Generally speaking, the recommendations agree with Sugarloaf Alliance positions, including the recommendation that data centers not be sited in Treasured Landscapes, and the report specifically mentions Sugarloaf Mountain. Read the Frederick News Post report here. The report is in the hands of the County Executive, and her administration is expected to make recommendations for legislation governing data centers in Frederick County. We still don’t have information about legislation or timing."

Montgomery Countryside Alliance and our partners at Sugarloaf Citizens Association are continuing to carefully monitor the proposal as many as 20 data centers and a large scale grid battery storage facility at the former PEPCO Power Plant in Dickerson. The new property owner Terra Innovations will file for conditional use approval for the project very soon.
Here are the concerns and recommendations submitted by both organizations to the applicant.
We continue to advocate for both state and county regulations to guide this land use. Currently the data center land-use does not have a regulatory framework.

Some maps from the Terra Innovations site showing property boundaries and zoning:

Pieces of this property are part of the Ag Reserve as shown above

Much More: 
Community Meeting with SCA, MCA and Sugarloaf Alliance on Data Center Concerns
​Northern VA has a Data Center Problem
Data Centers in N VA are nearing a tipping point
​Quantum Loophole to Bore under Potomac is 3 places to lay data center infrastructure
​Quantum Loophole cited for many MDE violations - stop work order issued

The Data is in: See the full report and preface "A Study on the Reliable Drought Yields of Poolesville's Public Water Supply Wells" 
​
Also the Press Release 

It has been dry: The first regional drought watch has been issued since 2010 by the Washington Council of Governments (COG)

The Town of Poolesville has requested, and MDE has granted in the past, in response to temporary public health issues, higher water allocation amounts (gallons per day water withdrawals) than the flow data show the can be sustained within a single watershed -hundreds of thousands of gallons per day over what the aquifer can sustain.  Hammond cautions that overallocation is being used to support  projected growth. He advises that the Town should identify additional groundwater capability in the last remaining watershed first before approving future development.


Good, accurate, up-to-date data will best inform the Town's  comprehensive plan, helping to stave off future water availability issues and further degradation of area streams that flow into the Potomac River upstream from the WSSC water system intake. We are heartened to hear that the Town is receptive to Hammond's reporting.
​
An extensive summary of Mr. Hammond's study as presented to the Poolesville Commissioners  can be found here. 
The final report can be found here - a fully formatted version is forthcoming.


So what now? 
MCA is pleased to announce that this aquifer study is the first part of a multi-year research and outreach campaign to bring attention and action around safeguarding upcounty water resources. Please stay tuned for ways to get involved coming soon! In the meantime - check out these water conservation tips and septic tips. 

This aquifer monitoring and outreach project is powered by a Clean Water Montgomery Award, funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Montgomery County. 

How we use our prime agricultural lands matters. Flat, sunny, well drained soils are at a premium. Despite a compromise allowing solar in the Ag Reserve on non-prime soils as a conditional use in 2021, 2 solar projects are now applying to the state to end run the County's protections for prime soils in the Ag Reserve. All while solar companies inflate land values, putting acreage further out of reach for the new, diverse crop of local farmers. ​

2 solar projects have applied directly to the MD Public Service Commission (PSC) for approval of their 4-5 mw facilities in the Reserve - on prime farm soils in contradiction to the County’s zoning provisions.

State Legislation has opened this path and concern mounts that conservation goals and laws will be compromised if the PSC allows projects to move forward regardless of how they might affect carefully crafted provisions for renewable projects. 
Moreover, currently there is a backlog of projects on less than prime soils that have gone through the County's process - the grid operators are unable to take more power. 

The arguments of those seeking solar on prime farmland remain unchanged from the original MC solar ZTA debate in 2021 including and outrageously that the Reserve represents failure… farming here does not contribute to our food system.

Our central argument is unchanged:

Panels should not be erected on prime farmland, defined as nearly level, with deep, well-drained soil capable of producing food without irrigation. These are class I and II soils in the USDA’s soil capability classification system. 

In Montgomery County these lands were set aside for Agriculture. When these lands are open to industrial uses the economics of farming are upended. Solar companies are offering 100 times the rate farmers are paying per acre. 

The purchase of farmland is already out of reach for aspiring farmers - a fact leading to the creation of our Land Link Montgomery program to connect new and expanding farmers with long term land leases. The land seekers in the program are almost entirely aspiring farmers of color, many of them immigrants, more than half women. AfriThrive, as profiled below is just one of several successful matches increasing local food production in the Ag Reserve - with more farmers seeking land each year. 

More Background: 
​

• Resources for MoCo Homes, Businesses and Farms Going Solar
  
  
• Position Paper from Sugarloaf Citizens Association
  
  
• ​Harvard Study: "More solar energy needed, but clearing forests for panels may not be way to do it"
  
  
• "Driving Farmers off the Land" - a paper by Alfred Wurglitz
  
  
• Land Link Farmer Profile: AfriThrive - Bridging the divide between food security and cultural integrity
  ​
• Maryland Matters Opinion: Preserve farmland and prioritize solar arrays in the built environment
  ​
• ​Chesapeake Conservancy - Solar Siting Methodology for Local and State Governments

Letters to just one local landowner promising between $1500-4000/acre per year to lease farmland for solar. An acre for farming usually goes for just under $200/year. 

​Call for Vendors

Pop-up Farmers and Artisans Market
Sunday, September 15, 2024
11am - 3pm
Linden Farm, Dickerson

Montgomery Countryside Alliance is hosting the 17th annual Ride for the Reserve Fall bike tour. In addition to the bike ride and picnic, we're incorporating a pop-up Farmers and Artisans Market. 

Space is free.

We're looking for all kinds of vendors selling items such as pumpkins, fruit, veggies, prepared foods, sweets, bakery items, flowers, fiber arts, vintage, arts/crafts or providing services such as massage, face painting, and more!

Contact Mindy at [email protected] for more information or to reserve your spot.

At the committee hearing for this ZTA on 7/22 (video here) there was very little discussion of the concerns about this ZTA expressed by farmers and Ag Reserve residents. 
Notably - the issue of how allowing portable generators to power these recreation structures goes against the county's emissions targets and actions to limit noise pollution. 

​The County banned gas powered blower use/sale. Research indicates that RV/portable generators emit roughly the same level of sound - Generators between 70-100 db. This ZTA permits both RVs and structures that could each operate generators without restriction other than being 100 from a property line. A maximum of 10 units potentially simultaneously operating generators? Legislators should account for these scenarios in determining how compatible the change in land use will be with rural communities.
Anything other than a generator hooked to the electrical system should not be allowed as part of this conditional use. 
The Council votes on this ZTA Tuesday the  30th- please take two minutes to write them on this topic.

Prior Updates: 

Background on the original ZTA:

We just got an update from the landowner at our very first Re-Leaf site, our pilot acre planted there in Dickerson beside the Little Monocacy river is doing great! 

Re-Leaf the Reserve is our partnership with the Department of Parks and Planning to plant native forests along stream buffers in the Ag Reserve. These forests are encumbered with easements to ensure they stand to benefit generations of MoCo residents. 

Our continued thanks to the Seelys at Gardens by Garth who install the trees with care and ensure they get the best start, Carole Bergmann who chairs the program and our partners at Parks and Planning that make the program possible.  
​
As of today we have planted thousands of trees across many local sites. Can you host a forest? We are looking for stream buffers in the Ag Reserve  - learn more here. 
Down County folks can get free and reduced priced trees through  Tree Montgomery and Reforest Montgomery.​

​Have you ever wanted to grow mushrooms?   I’m a gardener wanna be.  I attempt fruit and vegetable plants like cucumbers, squash, and lettuce, but I seem to do a better job at growing weeds than these edible delights.  I keep trying tho!   Recently I decided to add mushrooms to my garden!  They have always intrigued me.   I signed up for a mushroom workshop with Michael Judd of Ecologia Design, author of “Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist” and “For the Love of PawPaws."

Michael's passion for mushrooms runs very deep…deep into the nutrient rich soil fungi help create for the whole ecosystem as they break down fallen trees, dead leaves, and plants.  Michael has worked side by side with mycelium to create his own sustainable haven in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains just outside of Frederick, Maryland. ​

An update in the White's Ferry saga - after 3 years of closure as the result of legal battles between the Ferry and the landowners on the Loudon county side, things may be moving toward a deal to re-open the ferry. 
The Kuhn family had bought the ferry from the long term owners in 2021 and is now seeking to donate the business to Montgomery County on the contingency that the County can resolve the issues with the landing on the other side.

After 230 years in operation, the ferry is part of the public transportation system. We are hopeful that the counties can work together toward a compromise to get the ferry back in service. 

Much more information from  My MC Media

Update: Great reporting from the Bay Journal on a proposed settlement with MDE to account for Quantum Loophole's fouling of Potomac tributaries. 

If you are just catching up - Quantum Loophole is constructing data centers in Frederick County and will be boring under the Potomac to connect these new centers to "Data Center Alley" in Northern Virginia across the river. In early April an MDE inspector discovered a second round of "frac-outs" - places where drilling by the company had released sediment and fracking solution into surface streams in the Monocacy Watershed, with dire consequence for aquatic life and water quality. To make matters worse, this round of drilling was done without a permit and the pollution events were not reported by the company. This is the second time environmental damage has resulted from Quantum's activities.

MCA has joined 34 other local and state environmental protection organizations on an open letter to Maryland's leaders in Annapolis and Frederick County along with the leadership at Quantum Loophole to call for more rigorous enforcement of existing environmental laws and more responsible actions from the company. 

Much more about Data Centers: 

•  Our partners at Sugarloaf Alliance have more background on Quantum Loophole
• Governor Moore's priority passes: loopholes for huge diesel generators and no oversight for data centers
• Multiple data centers proposed for Dickerson in the Ag Reserve

The bill will see a public hearing on April 18th (tentatively 1:30)

Here is the action alert  from the MC Civic Federation  and our note sent last year to ask for the Counsel's return:
​
Fund the Office of the People's Counsel - FY 2023 Operating Budget
​
Dear County Executive Elrich,
There are compelling reasons to include this in the FY 2023 budget as cited in a strong letter sent to your office yesterday from MCCF. Chief among the reasons listed:
“Furthermore, the County Code requires that prior to introduction, any proposed Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) be reviewed by a ZTA Advisory Group that includes the OPC. One of the reasons often cited by the Planning Department for the complete rewrite of the County's Zoning Ordinance (which was a seven year process) was to discourage the use of Zoning Text Amendments that bypass the master planning and land use public processes. However, since the Zoning Rewrite was adopted, there have been over 100 ZTAs proposed by a small number of Councilmembers. All of the ZTAs were proposed without the benefit of the OPC review.”
The call for return of the People’s Counsel is not new. I had, for example, included it in this 2019 piece in Maryland Matters

In truth, if looking at this from purely a dollars cost, the reestablishment of the position will save much in governmental time and money spent churning over poorly conceived ZTAs etc.
Above all… this is about just and equitable governance.
Respectfully,
**********

On April 10 the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled new regulations to tackle drinking water contamination from the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. To get these toxic chemicals out of our drinking water, the rule establishes maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs, that set limits on six notorious PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, GenX, PFBS, PFNA and PFHxS.

MCA signed a letter with water protection advocates across the county supporting this new rule. MCA was asked to provide comment to the Environmental Working Group's press release. 

Caroline Taylor, executive director, Montgomery Countryside Alliance: “Three cheers for the Biden administration making safe drinking water a priority. New standards for PFAS exposure coupled with necessary funding for local testing and treatment are a significant step forward in our collective goal to protect human lives.”

In early 2023, PFAS contamination caused the closure of two wells in Poolesville. MCA and partners have called for a prohibition on fertilizers that contain high levels of PFAS that are currently used on local farms. 
​

Now that PFAS will be regulated - it's time to find out where remediation needs to occur. USA Today's Map shows Poolesville highly elevated PFAS in  17 out of 40 tests completed this year. 

Background: Data centers are an emerging land use heavily established in Northern Virginia but not yet a common sight in Maryland. The state and local jurisdictions do not currently have a regulatory framework to deal with this novel and intensive land use.
​
Data Centers use large amounts of (often farm) land to house row after row of computer servers, servers that must be cooled by large amounts of circulated water.  What we think of when we save something "to the cloud" is in fact a very large low slung building with the power needs of a large city. The increase in power needs has Virginia contemplating a large grid update that Maryland rate payers will need to chip in for, to the tune of $500 Million. 

But what about when the power goes out? 

For all the cutting edge technology of data centers, the back up power source of choice has been diesel generators - enough to keep that city-sized power need met. The company Aligned looking to construct data centers in Frederick County had to withdraw their plans when their application to the Public Service Commission for 160 3-megawatt diesel generators required to run continuously in the event of a power outage was denied.   
​
Governor Moore was frustrated by this. From Maryland Matters, "The PSC decision drew a rebuke from Moore after Aligned Data pulled out of the development — even though Moore has appointed three of the five commissioners. And the company in a recent statement warned that the PSC vote “sent a negative — and perhaps fatal — signal to the hoped-for data center industry in Maryland.”

Moore's resulting legislation on this topic, HB 579/ SB474: Critical Infrastructure Streamlining Act​ seeks to remove the PSCs oversight on backup power generators for data centers.

MCA signed on with 17 other state and local groups to oppose this bill. 

From the opposition letter: 
​
"We are concerned by the bill’s sweeping exemptions. As written, all backup diesel generators, of any size, in any quantity, anywhere in Maryland would be exempt from the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) process. The technical expertise and judicial role of the Public Service Commission would have no influence in these potentially massive generator projects."

"We also worry about the precedent that could be set by exempting from the CPCN process
power plant-sized complexes of diesel generators without opportunity for substantive public involvement. This is a significant concern, as for example, just at the Quantum Loophole site in Adamstown, over 1000 generators are expected to provide a total of 2.4 gigawatts of energy. That is enough energy to power 600,000 new homes, roughly two times the number of housing units in Baltimore."

Recommendations: This land use is both entirely novel and has dramatic impacts on land, water, energy and economics.  MCA supports the efforts to convert the bill to a study that would:

• Project # diesel generators in next 10 years
• Prepare an environmental analysis.
• Identify the timeline for the availability of greener alternatives.
• Make recommendations for overall clean energy goals.
• Make recommendations for permitting, oversight, and public communications.
• Ascertain energy availability and risk of blackouts.

In addition, MCA supports SB0861-Public Utilities - High-Energy-Use Facilities - Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions put forth by Senator Lewis Young and Senator Watson. The bill would require facilities that have high energy use - notably data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations to move toward 100% reduction in emissions by 2040 (5 years after Governor Moore has pledged the state will be using 100% clean energy) with milestone targets between now and then, with compliance monitored by the Public Service Commission. This provision aligns the staggering energy use of data centers with the critical emissions reduction goals of the state and will push innovation. 

Press:

Baltimore Sun: Maryland Governor's bill on data centers raises environmental concerns

Frederick News Post: Moore 'disappointed' in PSC's Aligned decision, will work with legislature on data center needs
​
Multiple Data Centers Proposed at Dickerson Power Plant - Concerns and Recommendations

As Use of A.I. Soars, So Does the Energy and Water It Requires

A very uplifting part of our mission here at MCA is engaging with students. This week we had the privilege of taking Poolesville High School Global Ecology students to Black Hill Regional Park. Students had insightful questions for Ag Reserve architect Royce Hanson, Park staff and our own Caroline Taylor. 

When Caroline was speaking to the importance of regional water protection a juvenile bald eagle soared across the reservoir. 

Our thanks to PHS students and teachers, Park staff and Royce Hanson for a great field trip!

Background on the need for an Office of Peoples Counsel:
Land Use is complicated - while the county and developers have a a bevy of land use attorneys, the average resident may not even know what their zoning is. This imbalance becomes stark when residents have questions about planned developments or zoning changes in their neighborhood. Until 2010, re-balancing this equation was the job of the Office of the People's Counsel (OPC)- an agency that is authorized by the County Code to represent the public interest in the County’s land use regulatory process.

The OPC was quietly defunded in 2010. It's absence has left the door open to scores (over 100!) of zoning text amendments crafted by some County Council members. These land use changes (some sweeping) often bump up against current master plans and cause the most detriment to communities that don't have the resources or land use acumen to defend themselves.
Understanding and engaging in plans for development where you live should not be a privilege.

While the MoCo OPC was axed over a decade ago, our Prince George's neighbors- also under the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) - continue to fund an active and functional People's Zoning Counsel that preforms the same functions of ensuring a complete hearing record and a fair process.
​
Enter Bill PG/MC 112-24 at the General Assembly introduced by Senator Ben Kramer that would correct this imbalance between M-NCPPC counties by providing for a fully funded and active OPC in Montgomery County mirroring the PG office. The Economic Development Committee will shortly consider the bill.

MCA is so grateful for the expertise and engagement of our board of directors and advisory committee.  In taking on all the issues we do, many hands make light work and allow us to be both informed and responsive. 

We are excited to announce a new addition, Katherine Nelson recently retired from Montgomery County's Planning department. 

Katherine has over 30 years of experience in land use planning with a focus on forest conservation, stream water quality protection, water supply/wastewater planning, and GIS database development and management.
 Katherine was among the first Arborists to be certified by the International Society of Arboriculture in 1988, and she is a Certified Natural Resource Expert with the American Forestry Association.
Katherine helped develop the 1993 Patuxent River Functional Master Plan and served for many years as the Montgomery representative on the multi-jurisdictional Patuxent Reservoir Technical Advisory Committee and Patuxent River Commission. In 1995 the Commission provided County grants which Katherine used to develop and manage the Patuxent Demonstration Project - one of the first GIS data-based studies in the County to evaluate the relationship among watershed imperviousness, watershed forest cover, and stream water quality.
Katherine developed the Planning Department’s forest planting program using developer mitigation funds to reforest stream valleys on Parkland. This has resulted in over 30 acres of newly planted forest in previously denuded sensitive areas. She also developed and managed an associated volunteer program that facilitated individuals and conservation groups to care for these newly planted forests that can be vulnerable to deer predation and invasive species. For this effort she received the Izaak Walton League of America National Honor Roll Award in 2009. 
From 2006 to 2010 Katherine led the effort to convert the Planning Department’s paper forest conservation records and hand-drawn maps to a digital system of geodatabases. These included forest conservation plans, forest cover, conservation easements, forest mitigation banks and forest planting. This greatly enhanced the Department’s on-going data analysis capabilities and made it possible for the Department to develop Geographic Information System (GIS) web applications that made this data easily accessible to the public. For this effort the team received the ESRI Special Achievement Award in 2011. Katherine oversaw the management of these databases until 2018.
Katherine served on the County Forest Conservation Advisory Committee from 2010 to 2020.  She was also part of MWCOG’s Community Forestry Network and was on the team that developed the Regional Urban Forest Canopy Analysis.  In 2009 Katherine was instrumental in developing the County’s first Tree Canopy Analysis with the University of Vermont. 


Katherine provided the environmental analysis and recommendations and the water and sewer service recommendations for many master plans, including the original Rustic Roads Functional Plan (NCAC Merit Award 1996), Friendship Heights (NCAC Merit Award 1999), Sandy Spring/Ashton, Ten Mile Creek, Potomac Subregion (NCPC Merit Award for the Environmental Analysis 1999), Damascus and Vicinity, Burtonsville Crossroads, Sandy Spring Village, Westbard (nominated for the Bethesda Green Award 2019), and Fairland and Briggs Chaney.

In 2018 we were so thrilled to match Niyi Balogun and Tope Fajingbesi  with their first acre of land and a solid landowner partner through our Land Link program. From the start it was clear that they were determined to find success growing Certified Naturally Grown produce on their acre in Brookeville. First they sold at one market, then two, they started growing for Manna Food Center.  The press came calling to tell their story about Niyi's move from Nigeria and his instance to continue farming here in Montgomery County, along with Tope's accounting background creating a thriving farm business. They mentored other farmers and engaged in strengthening the Ag sector in the County. ( See the farmer summit at Dodo Farms)
Dodo Farms quickly grew out of one acre and started looking for more space. They leased 4 more acres at their same original property but were still looking for a way to live where they farm and own the land to make long term infrastructure investments worthwhile. 

They have just bought 10 acres in Howard County and we could not be happier to have them achieve what they have wanted for so long.

But - all the same, it is troubling they were not able to access land here in Montgomery County. 

While Land Link is matching land seekers with land to lease, overcoming the high price of land to buy is still very difficult. We worry our county will loose seasoned farmers and Ag community collaborators  like Niyi and Tope to reasonably priced land elsewhere after they have built a life and customer base in Montgomery County. 

All this shines a light on a new ZTA proposal at the County Council that seeks to redefine farming to allow commercial lodging on protected farmland. 
When non-farmers can buy up land in the Ag Reserve for non farm uses - farmers like Niyi and Tope simply can't compete -  in the only part of the county set aside for farming. 

If you have not already, please write the Council on ZTA 23-09. 

We will of course still be offering support to our partners at Dodo Farms and you can still find them at the Silver Spring and Dupont Circle Farmers Markets.
​
You can keep up with Dodo Farms' move here. 

It is not overacting to call it a a saga - the three years invested by Frederick County farm and smart growth advocates to shepherd through the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Plan have been tumultuous, with moving boundaries, backroom deals with multi national companies and more. Hanging in the balance, farmland and forests that could either gain critical protection or  remain unprotected with new land-hungry uses at the door. 

After passing the plan in 2022, the non binding goals of protecting the area around Sugarloaf, the overlay that forms the teeth of the zoning change was remanded to the Planning Board last year. It was once again approved by the Planning Board with few changes and a strong recommendation to pass it. The Council took it up on December 19th and the overlay failed 5-2. 

The Frederick News Post covered the meeting. Councilmembers Brad Young, M.C. Keegan-Ayer, Kavonté Duckett, Mason Carter and Renee Knapp voted against the overlay. Councilmembers Jerry Donald and Steve McKay voted to approve it.

To the advocates in the room, the reasons given for not backing up the plan recognizing the regions unique qualities with measures to keep them protected were underwhelming to say the least. A broad coalition of regional supporters were dismissed as NIMBYs, zoning that would protect farms and forests, used by the county elsewhere to protect similar resources was called "exclusionary" and Councilmember Young even said that the area may need to be a "revenue stream" in the future.  

One part of the meeting that was particularly chilling was the lack of support for an amendment barring Data Centers from being sited in the Sugarloaf Zone. A proposed floating zone that would allow Data centers is proposed for parts of the area considered by this plan. 

Related: Maryland Matters on Data Centers: "In other words, if the data centers come to Frederick County, there could be tremendous consequences for the climate and the environment — and for millions of utility customers throughout the region."

We understand that the next part of Frederick County's Zoning re-write is the 270 corridor, an area where carveouts to this plan were floated to allow a developer to site data centers in partnership with Amazon within the plan area. This plan, bound by NDAs and backroom deals, only came to light thanks to the legal efforts of Sugarloaf Alliance. 

Data center development on the industrial Eastalcoa site is ongoing - in the words of Councilmember McKay who was seeking to prohibit Data Centers in the Sugarloaf Zone: 

"The County is moving forward with a major data center project at the old Eastalco site. We’re a decade or more from maximizing that project. We don’t need more land now. That Eastalco site has the high power electric infrastructure - Sugarloaf doesn’t. The Eastalco site has nearby water and sewer - Sugarloaf doesn’t.
Leaving open the prospect for this kind of development in the Sugarloaf area actually opens it up to even more intensive development. As far as the Council members opposing the overlay tonight, I didn’t hear them shying away from that possibility. In my opinion, that vote against the overlay was a vote in favor of future development there."

No question this is a setback, but the work continues. We stand committed to our partners across the county line. Please follow Sugarloaf Alliance for more in-depth updates.