Community Meeting Alert: 10/25:
To do:
- Sign the Change.org Petition
- Sign up to get Nature Forward’s Action Alerts to not miss an opportunity to share your voice.
- Sign up to hear from the community organizers directly.
- Follow the official Stop Landover Instagram.
- Use the form below to write to your Councilmembers to let them know your concerns about unfettered data center development in Prince George’s County
Community Corner:
What your neighbors are saying about the proposed Landover Data Center:
TikToks:
Instagram Posts:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPeX-O6jZXi/?igsh=N3M0ZGh4ZG45cTRl
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPcWR-yAfr4/?igsh=dG5ncXd0YzM3Ynd5
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPgyVzCjSkm/?igsh=MXd6ZmtveGl3OXY3OQ%3D%3D
Educational Resources
- Going to a townhall or a meeting with your legislator? Not sure where to start? Here is a list of questions to get you started:
Issue History
Community Backlash Pauses Landover Mall Data Center Development
Thanks to the many organizers in Prince George’s County, the County Council and County Executive issued a moratorium on all data center development for the next six months.
Read and watch more coverage below:
Amid uproar, Prince George’s County putting new data center development on pause
Qualified Data Center Taskforce Formation
The Qualified Data Center Taskforce’s history can be found here, with all of the meetings recorded. The taskforce was formed to look at the economic and community impacts of data centers in Prince George’s County. Much of the rhetoric around data centers has been positive, given the budget shortfall. Most notably, there is only one environmental/community voice on the Taskforce.
The Dangers of By Right Development at Landover Mall
WAMU’s Protests cause Prince George’s leaders to hit ‘pause’ on data centers details why we advocate against by-right development in all data center development cases. Data centers require too many resources to have un-examined access to areas not zoned for heavy industrial uses. During the community rally on September 10th, many Prince George’s County Councilmembers expressed that they themselves did not know the speed at which the Landover deal was progressing, placing blame on previous County Councils for allowing by right development, with no questions asked.
“But Ivey says the process was transparent. In 2020, the county was desperately in search of new economic drivers. There was consensus among councilmembers and the county executive’s office about the need to compete for data center projects. Nearby jurisdictions, like Frederick County, offered a quicker, streamlined approval processes for developers; in Prince George’s county, the approval process could take over a year. In order to be competitive, county officials felt that they needed a process that would allow developers to put a shovel in the ground in 90 days.
In 2021, the council voted unanimously to allow data centers to be built ‘by right’ in most places in the county, meaning developers could go straight from the planning board to the permitting office without council approval or public hearings. Areas where data centers can be built under current rules encompass much of the county, including areas zoned for commercial offices, rural residential areas, and shopping centers. The laws also give developers tax breaks as an extra incentive.”