Maryland local moratoria
Every local infrastructure moratorium in the inventory for Maryland, current through August 19, 2026.
9 instruments — 5 in force, 4 pending, 0 past.
State policy is tracked separately: 13 actions (13 bills) in state_legislation.csv. These are not included in the local count above.
| Jurisdiction | Type | Enacted | Sectors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore City | City | 2026-05-11 | data center | 🟡 Pending |
| Baltimore County | County | 2026-02-02 | data center | 🟢 Active |
| Frederick County | County | 2026-07-01 | data center | 🟢 Active |
| Howard County | County | 2026-06-01 | data center | 🟡 Pending |
| Montgomery County | County | 2026-07-28 | data center | 🟢 Active |
| Prince George's County | County | 2025-09-16 | data center | 🟢 Extended |
| Proposed or Rejected Local Pauses | Aggregate meta-row | Unverified | general | 🟡 Pending |
| Washington County | County | 2026-06-30 | data center | 🟢 Active |
| Worcester County | County | 2026-07-07 | data center | 🟡 Pending |
Detailed entries
Baltimore City
- Type: City
- Status: 🟡 Pending
- Date enacted: 2026-05-11 (Bill 26-0158 passed by City Council and sent to the Mayor for signature, per newsletter reporting)
- Normalized date:
2026-05-11(exact) - Duration: One year, paired with a nine-month impact study
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
md-baltimore-city-2026 - Legal basis: Baltimore City Council Bill 26-0158.
- What prompted it: Not detailed in the available source beyond general data-center development concerns.
- Affected projects: Data centers using 10 MW or more of power.
- Detailed status: Passed by Council and sent to Mayor as of 2026-05-11; signature/enactment status not independently confirmed.
- Outcome: Nine-month impact study to run alongside the one-year moratorium.
Baltimore County
- Type: County
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: 2026-02-02 council enactment; applies retroactively to 2026-01-05 introduction
- Normalized date:
2026-02-02(exact) - Duration: Until the earlier of 2027-01-01 or 90 days after the Planning Board submits its report
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
md-baltimore-county-2026 - Legal basis: Bill 3-26, Zoning Regulations - Data Center Study
- What prompted it: County concern that Bill 54-24 had opened broad zoning pathways before the county had studied electricity demand, public water demand, siting, notice, public health, environmental, and incentive issues
- Affected projects: Countywide suspension on accepting or approving development plans, zoning petitions, permits, and other approvals for data centers
- Detailed status: Active
- Outcome: Planning Board report due by 2026-10-01; possible recommendations include a ban, siting controls, permitting changes, notice requirements, and incentive limits
Frederick County
- Type: County
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: 2026-07-01 (County Executive-announced pause via executive order(s), specific numbers not stated in the civic alert)
- Normalized date:
2026-07-01(exact) - Duration: Through 2026-12-31, or until the State issues its Data Center Impact Analysis and Report, whichever is earlier
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
md-frederick-county-2026 - Legal basis: County Executive action following a Maryland Supreme Court ruling that a citizen referendum on the County's zoning ordinance restricting data centers to an area north of Adamstown could not appear on the fall 2026 ballot; two executive orders were signed halting acceptance/processing of new Critical Digital Infrastructure applications.
- What prompted it: Litigation/referendum uncertainty over the County's existing data-center zoning restriction, plus a pending state-level impact report.
- Affected projects: New applications for Critical Digital Infrastructure facilities or associated substations.
- Detailed status: Active as of 2026-07-01 announcement.
- Outcome: Pause intended to allow community engagement and to await the State's forthcoming data-center impact report before further zoning action.
Howard County
- Type: County
- Status: 🟡 Pending
- Date enacted: 2026-06-01 (County Council passage, as amended); signed by County Executive 2026-06-04; effective 2026-08-04
- Normalized date:
2026-06-01(exact) - Duration: Ends at the earliest specified policy milestone or 2027-11-02
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
md-howard-county-2026 - Legal basis: CB31-2026 (the S.M.A.R.T. Siting Act)
- What prompted it: Task force to study data center siting, a zoning definition, and recommendations; a public hearing and report are required within 12 months
- Affected projects: —
- Detailed status: Signed and enacted, but not yet in effect as of the 2026-07-31 reference date; Planning and Zoning is barred from accepting new data center plan submissions once effective on 2026-08-04, and the county opened Data Center Task Force applications on 2026-07-06
- Outcome: County Council passed CB31-2026 as amended; County Executive signed it 2026-06-04, with an effective date of 2026-08-04
Montgomery County
- Type: County
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: 2026-07-28 (Council press release date; Expedited Bill 19-26 and companion Zoning Text Amendment 26-01)
- Normalized date:
2026-07-28(exact) - Duration: 18 months from the bill's effective date (specific calendar end date not stated in the press release)
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
md-montgomery-county-2026 - Legal basis: Expedited Bill 19-26 (Department of Permitting Services barred from issuing data center permits during the moratorium) paired with Zoning Text Amendment 26-01 (prohibits hyperscale data centers countywide and redefines 'data center').
- What prompted it: Council concern over unresolved zoning/permitting pathway for data centers following prior zoning changes; competing council proposals (6-month vs. 2-year) were reconciled into an 18-month compromise.
- Affected projects: Applications submitted before or after the bill's effective date, pending regulatory review, or approved without an issued building permit are subject to the moratorium.
- Detailed status: Active as of adoption 2026-07-28.
- Outcome: Council intends to use the 18-month period to develop comprehensive data-center development guidelines in coordination with state officials.
Prince George's County
- Type: County
- Status: 🟢 Extended
- Date enacted: 2025-09-16 (CR-098-2025); 2026-01-23 (EO 1-2026, later administratively extended through 2026-06-30 per news reporting); 2026-07-07 (CR-066-2026, new 2-year Council resolution, adopted 7-1 with 3 abstaining/absent)
- Normalized date:
2025-09-16(exact) - Duration: CR-098-2025: 180 days or until comprehensive legislation; EO 1-2026: temporary hold from 2025-12-31 through 2026-04-30
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
md-prince-george-s-county-2025 - Legal basis: CR-098-2025; Executive Order 1-2026; underlying task force created by CR-016-2025
- What prompted it: Community concerns and task force review of energy demand, ratepayer impacts, air, water, woodland, quality-of-life, revenue, and siting issues
- Affected projects: Preliminary plans of subdivision that include qualified data centers; executive hold on accepting, considering, and processing qualified data center permit applications
- Detailed status: Active. County Council adopted CR-066-2026 on 2026-07-07, establishing a new two-year moratorium (through mid-2028 or until comprehensive data-center zoning legislation is enacted, whichever is earlier) on accepting, reviewing, and approving qualified data-center building/grading permits and subdivision plans. This followed the County Executive's EO-based administrative hold, which had been extended past its original 2026-04-30 end date.
- Outcome: As of 2026-07-31, no comprehensive data-center zoning ordinance has been enacted. Instead, the Council extended the temporary pause via CR-066-2026 (2026-07-07, two years). A competing zoning proposal by Councilmember Wanika Fisher to permit data centers in specified rural/agricultural/residential zones (with site-plan review for campuses under 200 acres) was introduced around 2026-07-21 and was pending before the Planning Board as of that date; it had not passed as of 2026-07-31.
Proposed or Rejected Local Pauses
- Type: Aggregate meta-row
- Status: 🟡 Pending
- Date enacted: —
- Normalized date:
—(unverified) - Duration: —
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: general
- Moratorium ID:
md-proposed-or-rejected-local-pauses-undated - Legal basis: —
- What prompted it: —
- Affected projects: —
- Detailed status: —
- Outcome: —
Washington County
- Type: County
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: 2026-06-30 (Board of County Commissioners adoption and effectiveness)
- Normalized date:
2026-06-30(exact) - Duration: 12 months
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
md-washington-county-2026 - Legal basis: Ordinance ORD-2026-12
- What prompted it: Pause on accepting, processing, reviewing, or approving data center applications, plans, or requests while the county studies regulation
- Affected projects: —
- Detailed status: Active per signed ordinance and official index
- Outcome: Board of County Commissioners approved Ordinance ORD-2026-12, a 12-month moratorium
Worcester County
- Type: County
- Status: 🟡 Pending
- Date enacted: 2026-07-07 (Board of County Commissioners work session; a motion to prohibit data centers in every zoning district reportedly failed 2-4, after which a motion for a one-year moratorium was reportedly accepted unanimously) [VERIFY]
- Normalized date:
2026-07-07(unverified) - Duration: One year, while staff develop definitions, permitted locations, and operating standards
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
md-worcester-county-2026 - Legal basis: Commissioner motion reportedly accepted unanimously at the 2026-07-07 work session; no standalone ordinance or resolution number, and no approved minutes, were located as of 2026-07-31 [VERIFY]
- What prompted it: County study of zoning definitions, permitted locations, and operating standards for data centers and cable landing stations
- Affected projects: —
- Detailed status: Unconfirmed as of 2026-07-31; the official meeting packet confirms the work session and proposed regulatory work, but the county archive did not provide approved minutes or a standalone moratorium instrument. [VERIFY] [VERIFY instrument number not confirmed at confidence 0.45 in the 2026-07 refresh]
- Outcome: Reported unanimous acceptance of a motion for a one-year moratorium so staff could develop data center definitions, permitted locations, and operating standards
Source: moratorium_inventory.csv · Methodology · Codebook.