The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to pause new data center permits for 18 months after weeks of pressure from residents and advocacy groups.
Residents and advocacy groups packed the Montgomery County Council hearing room as councilmembers voted on data center regulations.
The Council also approved a bill defining what legally counts as a data center, closing loopholes that could let projects bypass new rules.
Together, the votes give the county time to study how data centers affect water and power use before setting long‑term regulations. The pause also affects a proposed data center in Dickerson.
A packed room
Advocacy groups showed up in force.
A packed hearing room during a Montgomery County Council vote on data centers.
Members of Food & Water Watch held signs reading “Stop Data Centers” and “We Can’t Drink Data,” pointing to concerns over the large volumes of water used to cool data centers. Other attendees held signs calling for an outright ban on AI data centers in the county.
The size of the crowd reflected weeks of public concern over the industry’s growth in the county.
What the Council decided
Tuesday’s vote followed County Executive Marc Elrich’s six‑month permitting pause and a committee vote last week advancing the longer 18-month version.
The Council first passed ZTA 26‑01, a zoning bill from Councilmember Andrew Friedson that sets the county’s legal definition of a data center.
Members then approved Expedited Bill 19‑26, the 18‑month moratorium. Councilmember Evan Glass sponsored the bill, with support from Councilmember Will Jawando and Council Vice President Marilyn Balcombe.
The moratorium passed 11–0.
Glass said the pause is needed to get the policy right. “Pausing on them for 18 months. We have to get this right,” he said.
Jawando echoed that the county will stay active during the pause. “We’re not going to be twiddling our thumbs for the next 18 months,” he said.
Councilmember Dawn Luedtke noted the moratorium does not affect existing data centers. “We already have data centers here. We are not going to do things that shut existing data centers down,” she said, calling the bill a way to set guardrails for the county’s future.
What’s next
The moratorium runs until early 2028, giving the county time to study data centers’ impact and write long‑term rules alongside a state review.
