Charles County Planning Commission Meeting — ZTA 25-187 Data Centers (June 1, 2026)

The Charles County Planning Commission met on June 1, 2026, beginning shortly after 6 p.m. and adjourning at 10:30 p.m. The principal matter was a public hearing on Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-187, which would add a data center use and allow it in certain industrial zones. Planning Director Charles Rice presented the revised amendment; about 90 people signed up to speak, and the commission heard in-person and virtual testimony. After the hearing, the commission voted unanimously to recommend denial of the ZTA as written to the County Commissioners. No agenda or minutes were available; this summary is based solely on the meeting transcript.

Consent Calendar / Routine Approvals

• The agenda was approved as written by voice vote.
• The minutes of the May 4, 2026 meeting were approved by voice vote.
• The chair gave no opening comments, and no one signed up for personal appearances.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Testimony ran from about 6 p.m. until the 10:30 p.m. deadline. By the 8:50 p.m. break, 53 of the 90 signed-up speakers had spoken; remaining in-person and virtual speakers continued after the break.
• A large majority of speakers opposed the ZTA or asked the commission to delay action, often citing the pending Maryland statewide data center impact study expected in September 2026.
• Hannah Bowton (Newburgh) opposed data centers near Morgantown, Waldorf, and White Plains, saying they would deplete groundwater, pollute the Potomac, create heat islands with a radius of roughly six miles, and produce 24/7 noise above 90 decibels.
• John Anderson (Cobneck) cited buyer's remorse in other data center jurisdictions and criticized secrecy, NDAs, and shifting explanations; he called for independent economic and environmental studies and a pause.
• Kevin Venno requested a delay until the state study is public, and asked that setbacks be increased to at least a half mile, with noise limits of 60 dB daytime and 50 dB nighttime at the residential setback line and no more than 75 dB at the data center building line; he noted data center noise can range from 90 to 120 dB.
• Suzanne Benoit described evaporative cooling water losses, effluent with biocides and heavy metals, and heat from large centers. She cited TerraWolf's proposed Morgantown center as a 500 MW project expandable to 1,000 MW, and asked for megawatt caps, strict water/effluent limits, and third-party environmental assessments.
• Julie Davis (La Plata) said her electric bill and neighbors' bills had risen by $150 to $200 in recent cycles; she cited Consumer Reports finding residential prices rose 7.1% in 2025, and noted high data center concentration areas have seen electricity prices rise 267% over five years.
• Tina Wilson (Issue) alleged County Commissioner Ralph Patterson had a conflict of interest by serving on the Data Center Alliance of Maryland steering committee, and said she would submit an ethics inquiry.
• Evan Smith (Waldorf), a chemical engineer and State Delegate candidate in District 28, said the ZTA lacked required closed-loop cooling and limits on backup diesel generator use; he opposed the ZTA and preferred a moratorium or delay.
• Molly Moore (Newburgh) said the ordinance had loopholes on water quantities, wastewater disposal, noise enforcement, low-frequency hums, and diesel generators; she asked for an ironclad ordinance rather than one protecting companies.
• Hal Delaplane, for the Conservancy for Charles County, asked the commission to recommend denial, to classify data centers as special exception uses rather than permitted with conditions, and to open at least a 30-day public comment period.
• Julie Creden (Swamp Point) opposed the revised ZTA and raised risks of Vibrio vulnificus from heated water returns to the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac.
• Kevin Corcoran, on behalf of the Morgantown Water Company, opposed approval, describing aquifer, water pressure, contamination, noise, wildlife, and electric rate concerns; he asked SMECO to weigh in.
• Kurt Noer, a science teacher, asked for a moratorium and voiced concern about NDAs and cumulative industrial development on Piney Church Road.
• Piscataway Kanoi tribal council member Jessica Swan opposed the ZTA, emphasizing cultural resources, water, and seven-generation stewardship; another speaker requested investigation of the legacy PEPCO/Morgantown coal ash contamination and cancer clusters.
• Lauren Gigax, for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, asked that the ZTA require 24/7 carbon-free electricity and ban on-site diesel generators. She cited PJM findings that data centers caused 63% of the 2025-26 capacity auction price increase and a $9.3 billion cost recovered from ratepayers.
• Dr. Shakobi Wilson (Bowie) presented Prince George's County history, environmental justice scores for the Morgantown area (0.97 EJ score), and air/noise monitoring findings from Memphis and South Haven; he opposed the ZTA as an environmental justice issue.
• Carlos Childs (Waldorf), Michaela Wilkes (Waldorf), and other speakers opposed the amendment as environmental racism and said non-potable water is still community water; Wilkes noted the PUD zones remain eligible through Docket 90 and argued 500 feet is only about one and a half football fields.
• Several speakers, including Jake Burdett and Alana Davis of the Charles County Against Data Centers Coalition, called for an immediate moratorium and a resident-led task force; Davis proposed a 3-5 year task force with third-party appointments and public meetings.
• Speakers who supported the amendment or its direction included Tom Clark, who said he represented about 640 Charles County employees of Local 26 and asked for a favorable report; Ed Lukinich (Steamfitters Local 602), who supported reuse of the former Morgantown plant, including as a data center; and a union representative who described skilled-trades earnings and hours, saying members earned over $1 billion last year and more than 33 million hours are expected this year.
• Jake Burdett rebutted union testimony, saying temporary construction jobs should not override health, safety, and human rights, and noted the county's estimate of about 500 permanent data center jobs.
• Virtual speaker Chiante Baltimore (Waldorf) opposed data centers near Waldorf, citing grid strain, lead and water issues, and asked that county contracts with data center companies be made public.
• Virtual speaker John Bilmanis (Newburgh) asked the commission to reject the ZTA, limit any future use to heavy industrial zones, and develop worker and community benefit agreements.
• Virtual speaker Evelyn Brooke said she supported the revised amendment's mitigations (industrial-only zones, non-potable cooling, self-generated power, developer-paid infrastructure) but still opposed data centers because of pollution, property value, and health harms.

Discussion Items

• Planning Director Charles Rice reviewed the original ZTA and the reasons for the Planning Commission's earlier denial recommendation. The original ZTA would have permitted data centers with conditions in business park, general industrial, heavy industrial, PUD industrial, and some low-density rural residential zones, with a 30% open-space requirement, 200-foot property-line setbacks, 400-foot residential setbacks, architecture and landscaping requirements, noise/vibration studies, and a non-binding preference for non-potable water.
• The revised ZTA, Rice said, limits permitted zones to general industrial and heavy industrial, keeps St. Charles PUD industrial areas eligible through Docket 90, removes the 30% open-space requirement, increases the residential setback from 400 to 500 feet, requires only non-potable water for cooling or humidification, retains a public engagement component, adds iron fencing as a screening option, requires applicants/owners to pay for public infrastructure improvements, and adds emission performance standards for diesel generators.
• Rice noted the maps showed the eligible area was reduced significantly by restricting data centers to industrial zones.
• Staff stated that the public hearing was the opportunity for testimony. A break was taken around 8:40 p.m., and the hearing then continued with virtual speakers before closing.

Key Outcomes

• The Planning Commission closed the public hearing by voice vote after hearing in-person and virtual testimony.
• A motion was made, seconded, and passed unanimously by voice vote to deny ZTA 25-187 as written, with the motion referencing the conditions identified on March 2, 2026, and comments on size limitations, decommissioning, environmental and socioeconomic studies, a community benefit agreement, and adjustment of setback and noise restrictions.
• The chair clarified, and staff confirmed, that the vote is a recommendation to the County Commissioners to deny the ZTA as written.
• The commission welcomed new member Britt Toku.
• The next Planning Commission meeting was announced for June 15, 2026.
• The meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m.