Baltimore City Council approves one-year moratorium on large data centers

Baltimore’s first major data center moratorium now sits on Mayor Brandon Scott’s desk, after the City Council voted Monday night to pause new projects that would use 10 megawatts or more of power each year. The move does not ban the facilities outright, but it freezes approval for one year while city planners study what the buildings could mean for utility bills, land use, human health and the environment.

Council President Zeke Cohen introduced the legislation, identified in advocacy coverage as Council Bill 26-0158. Supporters say it directs the Department of Planning to conduct a comprehensive impact study before Baltimore allows another large-scale data project to move forward. Cohen has framed the pause as a way to understand the technology and its costs before the city commits more land and infrastructure to it.

The council vote came after two hours of public testimony, with residents and advocates rallying outside City Hall in support of the measure. Baltimore Brew reported that Community Law Center and Councilwoman Odette Ramos were also working on separate zoning legislation aimed at data centers, including a proposal to keep them out of areas that are not industrial zones. That broader zoning fight suggests Baltimore is not only debating power use, but also where these facilities should be allowed to fit into the city’s land-use map.

The issue has already become concrete near Johns Hopkins University, where the university’s Data Science and AI Institute has drawn concern from nearby residents even as Johns Hopkins says it will not function as a data center. The proposed moratorium has also been described as having a carve-out that would let some projects proceed, including Johns Hopkins’ reported $192 million expansion of computing infrastructure while the city works out broader rules.

Baltimore’s vote is part of a much larger Maryland fight over who should bear the cost of data-center growth. The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel told lawmakers that these facilities have city-sized energy demands and can push up electricity costs through capacity and transmission impacts. Nature Forward said PJM expects 32 gigawatts of load growth in the next four years, with 94% tied to data centers alone.

For Baltimore, the council’s decision amounts to a temporary brake on a fast-growing industry that can bring jobs and tax revenue, but also raises fears about strained grids, higher monthly bills and development that may not pay its own way. The next step belongs to Scott, and then to the planning process the city has just ordered for itself.