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FEDERALSBURG – The Federalsburg Town Council, minus Mayor Kim Abner, convened in a packed Federalsburg Activities Center on September 9. On the agenda was a public hearing on Ordinance 2026‑07, an ordinance to ban data centers within town limits of Federalsburg.
Throughout the public hearing, residents and council members debated potential environmental, health, and economic impacts of data centers. After extensive public comment with residents on both sides of the issue, the Council voted unanimously to pass Ordinance 2026‑O-7, “to amend Chapter 245 of the Federalsburg Town Code titled zoning to prohibit data centers in any zoning district,” effectively banning data centers within the town. But the future of data centers in Federalsburg is still on shaky ground as residents remain divided and the Council pursues a public vote on the subject.
Comments in Favor of the Data Center
A handful of speakers urged the town not to walk away from what they described as a once‑in‑a‑generation financial opportunity. Lifelong resident and business owner Gary Bee said the proposal is critical to Federalsburg’s survival. “I absolutely want the best for Federalsburg… I think the data center is the way to go,” he said, “We need the infusion of cash.”
Resident and member of Federalsburg’s Planning and Zoning Board Stephen Parks pushed back on environmental fears by emphasizing modern design standards and unmet needs in town. “We can look up data centers and we can see problem after problem… We acknowledge them, and we put it on paper. This is what it has to be. Let’s be responsive,” he said. He argued that the Town could pass strict parameters for potential data centers which companies would have to adhere to. “We’re not just turning away a data center. I want people to understand. We’re turning away new streets, new sidewalks…There’s a lot of things that come from the money we would get from the data center,” he said.
Another resident, Mary Webb, argued during her public comments that Councilmembers haven’t done enough research to justify banning the idea of a data center. She also said she was disappointed in how the process has gone and how the individuals that spoke at a public information meeting on behalf of the data center were treated. Councilmember Brandy James said she took offense to Webb’s claim that Councilmembers haven’t done enough research and pointed to her own time and efforts to get more information on data centers and their effects.
In response to Webb’s comments, Councilmember Brandy James said, “I take highly offense to you saying that we did not do our research. I’ve done my research… Everything that I have researched, I have shared with this audience.” She said that she’d gone as far as visiting a data center and questioning its manager. “I asked him would he put that building in his community if he lived there, and he said no… He said technology is changing, and they’re not building data centers to be massive like that anymore, and within four to five years that building would be obsolete.”
Comments Against the Data Center
Opponents of data center development in Federalsburg focused on health, environmental risk, transparency, and legal leverage, warning that Federalsburg could be left holding the costs if things go wrong.
Seventeen year old resident Carmalie Payne, clad in black funeral garments and holding a handmade sign, said banning data centers is vital to her generation and Federalsburg’s future: “A data center in Federalsburg would be a death sentence to this town… The pollution a data center would bring is especially harmful to the elderly, children, and the chronically ill. I have a chronic illness. I don’t need any outside factors like excessive pollution to add on.” Payne also criticized the data center company’s approach, “The longer this is entertained, the more closed doors conversations have been going on… They can meet with people to answer questions in invitation‑only meetings, but they can’t show up to answer questions at official and unofficial town meeting, all while hiding behind an LLC. They have nothing to lose while we have everything to lose.”
Homeowner Kim Yunes, who lives near the proposed site, played an audio recording on her phone that she claimed was taken right outside a data center. “Who wants to listen to this… 24/7, 365 days? I know I don’t.”
Bruce Willoughby, drawing on his HVAC background, said, “That generating plant is going to produce collectively between it and the data center 1.2 billion BTUs of heat… 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365. That is going to affect the surrounding temperature for at least five miles.”
Several residents who spoke also expressed doubt on whether Federalsburg could afford to enforce a contract with strict parameters on data centers.
Council Remarks
Councilmember James said, “I had several representatives from other jurisdictions reach out to me and say, ‘I hope your council doesn’t become the laughing stock of the Eastern Shore by allowing this to happen.’”
Citing Loudoun County, Virginia as a cautionary tale, she argued that chasing quick money without internal systems is dangerous. “If we can’t manage the $3 million budget that we currently have effectively, what makes you think we’re going to manage $100 million?”
Councilmember Ian Ferguson agreed, reiterating that Federalsburg’s budgetary concerns didn’t happen overnight. “These problems… have been here, neglected, for many, many years… It’s not like we’re neglecting or we don’t want things to get fixed, but not at the expense of our town and our residents,” he said.
Though the passing of Ordinance 2026-O-07 effectively bans data centers within town limits of Federalsburg, the Council noted that they’d like to get more information and clarification on when a public vote could be held.
