Overview
- A City Council committee advanced Council President Zeke Cohen’s bill to pause approvals for new data centers that would draw 10 megawatts or more, adding an automatic one‑year sunset before sending it to the full council.
- A packed hearing featured roughly two hours of testimony from environmental and faith groups who warned about higher power bills, heavy water use, and health risks near large server sites.
- Speakers and council staff noted Johns Hopkins’ projects, with the university saying a Homewood construction project is not a data center and a separate $9 million Bayview expansion falling below the bill’s 10‑megawatt threshold.
- Backers said the pause will let the city study impacts and write zoning and utility rules, while two council members, including Mark Parker, opposed the hard deadline added by the sunset amendment.
- Nearby Harford County took a different tack, as the county executive proposed a permanent ban on data centers, reflecting local worries about huge electricity loads and water needs tied to AI‑driven facilities.