Update - Quantum Loophole is still going to have their data center at the former Alcoa facility along 270 but the master plan carve out sought by developers detailed below that would have allowed another data center development on productive farmland on well and septic near Sugarloaf will not go ahead thanks to the tireless efforts of Frederick County residents. The Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Master Plan process ended a bit of a mixed bag - full update here.
Update 6/2023 - Frederick County Court Ordered to Release Documents on Sugarloaf Plan proposed developer carveouts - previously hidden citing "client privilege" Sugarloaf Alliance Press Release
Update 6/2023 - Frederick County Court Ordered to Release Documents on Sugarloaf Plan proposed developer carveouts - previously hidden citing "client privilege" Sugarloaf Alliance Press Release
FredCo Councilmember Kai Hagen does a good summary of why keeping the boundaries of the protective Sugarloaf plan all the way to 270 makes sense and carveouts for heavy development are not forward thinking policy. Take a moment to sign the petition here.
The Frederick County Council has pushed the deadline for their decision on this plan until October 31. Read more in the FNP
The Sugarloaf Treasured Management Plan is poised to deliver Southern FredCo's farms and forests the protection they have long needed. Here at the finish line, the County Council seems to be bowing to developer pressure on amendments that would undermine the plan and allow massive development. Join our friends at Sugarloaf Alliance in signing this petition and calling or emailing the FredCo Councilmembers (Contacts Below). The next Council meeting is tonight (8/30) and the following one is scheduled for 9/6.
The Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Master Plan has been a difficult process. The original plan was going to protect the farms and open space of entire Sugarloaf mountain region - only to have back room deals lead to carve outs along the west 270 for a wealthy developer, Tom Natelli, who wants to skirt the more protective zoning on his 500 acre parcel (currently farmland and forests) (mapped in red below).
The Frederick County Planning Board chose good governance and transparency and added the carve out back into the protective plan, extending the protections all the way west of 270 and all the way east to the Monocacy River- the historical boundary of this region. Now that the plan is in the final phases at the FredCo Council, there are again machinations on the part of Mr. Natelli and others and a new amendment that will be introduced by one or more Councilmembers. This amendment would seemingly allow spot zoning changes throughout the protected area - seriously weakening the plan.
The Frederick County Planning Board chose good governance and transparency and added the carve out back into the protective plan, extending the protections all the way west of 270 and all the way east to the Monocacy River- the historical boundary of this region. Now that the plan is in the final phases at the FredCo Council, there are again machinations on the part of Mr. Natelli and others and a new amendment that will be introduced by one or more Councilmembers. This amendment would seemingly allow spot zoning changes throughout the protected area - seriously weakening the plan.
And what do they want to build?
A Texas-based company called - not making this up- Quantum Loophole (QL)- has already broken ground for a giant data center on a 2,000 acre site along 270 (outside of the proposed land use plan) that used to house the Alcoa factory but seemingly need more land east of 270 (within the proposed boundaries) and just happened to welcome Mr. Natelli to its board of directors last summer - hence the proposed...loophole...being proposed as an amendment to the otherwise solid land management plan in front of the Council this very week. But if the data center is underway in a redevelopment area, why do they need more land in Frederick County - land that is currently forests and farmland?
"Quantum Loophole’s first-of-its-kind data center campus offers city-scale infrastructure for hyperscale, colocation, and purpose-built data center developers. The more than 2,100-acre, master-planned site sits just 20 ms from the massive, but constrained, Ashburn ecosystem." - Business Wire
Frederick's QL data center construction is a sister to the one they have built 20 miles away. Too bad there was not more capacity to have all the cloud computing in one spot - no big deal, QL will just create a 40 mile pipeline through the Agricultural Reserve and under the Potomac River in 3 places - entitled QLoop to enable data transfer. And here we were told the internet was actually not a series of tubes.
"Quantum Loophole’s first-of-its-kind data center campus offers city-scale infrastructure for hyperscale, colocation, and purpose-built data center developers. The more than 2,100-acre, master-planned site sits just 20 ms from the massive, but constrained, Ashburn ecosystem." - Business Wire
Frederick's QL data center construction is a sister to the one they have built 20 miles away. Too bad there was not more capacity to have all the cloud computing in one spot - no big deal, QL will just create a 40 mile pipeline through the Agricultural Reserve and under the Potomac River in 3 places - entitled QLoop to enable data transfer. And here we were told the internet was actually not a series of tubes.
What We Can Do:
(From Sugarloaf Alliance)
- Share this newsletter to your email friends
- Invite everyone to sign the petition - we’re over 1,000 - let’s get even more from Frederick Co.
- Share our website: www.sugarloaf-alliance.org
- Share our facebook page: Facebook@sugarloafalliance
- Many hands, as they say…. We’re all volunteers. We do what we can. Even if you’ve commented 15 times before, please comment again and again and again. The boundary issue is back. Show up, call in, email. Contact your Council Member. Contact the At-Large Council Members. Contact Council Member Jessica Fitzwater who is running for County Executive, who may be in charge of implementing the Plan and who has yet to take a position. Tell them all:
- You support the Plan’s I-270 boundary from Montgomery County to the Monocacy.
- You support the Overlay and the Plan’s preservation goals for the Sugarloaf area.
- Include a statement about why you appreciate the rural character of the area west of I-270 and why you believe dense development should continue to be focused on the east side of I-270.
- You oppose the paragraph on page 54, which opens the door to short-term Plan amendments because it creates an explicit opportunity for developers to quickly push for Plan changes despite more than 2 years of work and public input on the current version.
- Thank the Council Members for their support of the Sugarloaf Plan.
- Find more talking points at our website: sugarloaf-alliance.org
- Email your comments to the County Council at councilmembers@frederickcountymd.gov.
- Email or call your Council Member, the At-Large Members, and Candidate Fitzwater:
Michael Blue (VP, District 5) MBlue@FrederickCountyMD.gov, 301-600-1034
Jerry Donald* (District 1), JDonald@FrederickCountyMD.gov, 301-600-2336
Jessica Fitzwater (District 4), JFitzwater@FrederickCountyMD.gov, 301-600-2336
M.C. Keegan-Ayer (Pres., District 3), MCKeegan-Ayer@FrederickCountyMD.gov, 301-600-1101
Kai Hagen (At Large), KHagen@FrederickCountyMD.gov, 301-600-2336
Phil Dacey (at Large), PDacey@FrederickCountyMD.gov, 301-600-1034
