Data center restrictions tracker · Maryland

Charles County, Maryland: data center zoning exclusion (2026)

Data snapshot 2026-08-15 · part of Pricing the Fear of Data Centers

Charles County, in Charles County, Maryland, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on March 2, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.

The record reads: "The Charles County Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of Zoning Text Amendment #25-187, which would have established zoning regulations for data centers in the county (proposed by TeraWulf) (500 MW, 250 acres). Chairman Kevin… (datacentertracker.org)."

Details

ActionClassStatusDateMW thresholdScopeSource
Zoning exclusionrestrictionenactedMarch 2, 2026county-widedatacentertracker.org

Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Charles County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.

Maryland context

Maryland has 18 documented local actions across 14 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted).

A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.

Sources

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