Harford County, Maryland, Proposes 90-Day Data Center Moratorium Amid Local Opposition
April 23, 2026
Local lawmakers in Harford County, Maryland, have introduced a bill that would impose a 90-day moratorium on new data center developments, responding to growing community backlash over a proposed facility at a local golf course. The move highlights a widening tension between the surging demand for digital infrastructure and the concerns of residential communities unaccustomed to industrial-scale data centers.
The bill, designated as Bill 26-005, was introduced by Councilman Jacob Bennett. In a statement on Facebook, Bennett explained that the temporary halt would give county officials “plenty of time to research the issue and draft legislation to regulate and control this new industry before any developer attempts to bring it here to Harford County.” The proposed moratorium must still pass through committee review and a public hearing before the Harford County Council can vote on it.
During a council meeting on Tuesday, a fellow councilmember confirmed that an unidentified developer is eyeing the Mountain Branch Golf Course as a potential site for a data center, according to local reports from WMAR Baltimore. However, no formal planning application appears to have been submitted to the county. Social media posts shared by residents have identified the developer as CloudHQ, a US-based data center firm, though this claim could not be independently verified by DCD. DCD has reached out to CloudHQ for comment.
Opposition to the project has been swift and organized. A private Facebook group called “Our Land. Our Home. Our Harford” has already gathered roughly 1,300 members, and an online petition titled “Stop Data Centers in Harford County, MD” has collected more than 900 signatures at the time of writing. The resistance underscores a broader pattern of local pushback against data center developments in areas where such facilities are new and unfamiliar.
Harford County, located in northern Maryland along the border with Pennsylvania, currently hosts no data centers, according to Data Center Map. The vast majority of the state’s data center capacity is concentrated around Baltimore and Frederick. The proposed development, if realized, would mark a significant shift for the region, bringing both economic opportunity and the logistical challenges of power, water, and noise that often accompany large-scale data centers. The moratorium, if approved, would give Harford County time to craft zoning and regulatory frameworks before any developer moves forward.
Source: datacenterdynamics
