Worcester weighs future growth amid data center moratorium debate

SNOW HILL, Md. - Worcester County officials are weighing how future growth should look as the county moves toward a temporary pause on data centers and cable landing stations.

The Worcester County Commissioners voted Tuesday to advance a one-year moratorium on both uses while staff work on updated zoning language. The move comes as Globalinx Data Centers is proposing a cable landing station near the Ocean City airport.

The issue also came up during a Planning Commission meeting Wednesday afternoon, where members of the public were able to comment on the county’s long-term comprehensive plan. Wendie Green, with the Assateague MD Coastal Community Coalition, was among those who spoke at the 1 p.m. meeting.

Green said the moratorium gives the county more time to study possible impacts before allowing projects like data centers or cable landing stations to move forward.

“We were very happy to hear that,” Green said. “The moratorium just helps us buy time and get some more research behind us to back us up.”

Green said her coalition is concerned about possible noise, air pollution and light pollution, along with effects on forests, marshes and waterways near the Route 611 corridor and Assateague area. She said the group wants the corridor to remain a green and welcoming approach to nearby parklands.

“We want the water and air to remain clean and healthy,” Green said. “That’s our main goal.”

County Commissioner Eric Fiori said the issue shows Worcester County’s zoning code has not kept up with new technology.

“Our planning and zoning policy currently is not up to date with technology,” Fiori said. “This is obviously one of the big ones, with the data centers. And they’re going across Maryland and across the country, and we need to update our zoning code to address these new technologies.”

Fiori said his concerns include water, sewer, electricity and the limited amount of industrial land in Worcester County. He said Environmental Programs Director Robert Mitchell explained during Tuesday’s commissioners meeting that the county has limited resources available for future development.

Fiori said the county must decide whether those resources should support data-related facilities or other forms of economic growth.

“It’s either economic development within Worcester County or data centers or cable landings,” Fiori said.

Fiori initially supported a countywide ban on data centers, but commissioners instead moved forward with the proposed one-year moratorium. He said Development Review and Permitting Director Jennifer Keener is expected to work on updated zoning language, while Mitchell reviews natural resource concerns.

Fiori said the county also needs to consider how much industrial land it has left and whether it should be reserved for manufacturing and other job-producing uses.

“Do we want these data style centers to occupy the only industrial land we have left here for manufacturing and other economic growth?” Fiori said.

Green said her coalition would support a stronger ban in Worcester County, arguing that once the county allows one facility, more could follow.

“They make this cable landing station sound so harmless, but it’s really not if you see where it’s going to lead,” Green said.

The moratorium is not final. County staff are expected to bring an ordinance back to commissioners at their next meeting.

If approved, the pause would last one year while Worcester County works on definitions, zoning rules and potential restrictions for data centers and cable landing stations.

Worcester weighs future growth amid data center moratorium debate

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