Prince George’s Council hears bills tightening data center review and easing day care rules

By Everett Calloway

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — The Prince George’s County Council will take public testimony Tuesday on two zoning bills that pull in opposite directions: one would add a layer of public review for data centers, and the other would remove one for child-care centers.

The hearings are part of a long docket scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, in Committee Room 2027 of the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building in Largo, according to the council’s published hearing notice. The meeting will be streamed at pgccouncil.us/LIVE.

Data centers: an end to the site plan exemption

CB-019-2026, sponsored by Council Chair Krystal Oriadha with Council Members Wala Blegay, Thomas E. Dernoga and Shayla Adams-Stafford, would repeal the exemption from detailed site plan review that the county gave “qualified data centers.”

The bill’s background statement on the council’s legislative site lays out the history. The council added qualified data centers as a permitted use through CB-001-2021, after a 2020 county tax exemption meant to attract the projects. “To further incentivize the development of such projects, the County exempted data center applications from detailed site plan review, thereby shortening the time for development approval,” the statement says.

“However, in response to a growing desire for more public scrutiny of such projects, this bill removes that exemption,” it continues. If enacted, data center applications would require pre-application neighborhood meetings and a public hearing before the Planning Board, and could go before the District Council on its own election or on appeal from the applicant or “an aggrieved person.” The bill would also bar applicants from using the county’s prior zoning ordinance for data center uses under certain circumstances, creating a single review process.

The legislative record shows the bill was presented in March, favorably recommended with amendments by the Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee on Sept. 17 and introduced in its current draft on Sept. 22. The Planning Board took no position on the proposal in February, according to the record.

A separate bill, CB-085-2026 from Council Member Wanika Fisher, would permit qualified data centers in certain rural agricultural and residential zones subject to added requirements. Planning staff opposed that bill, and the committee held it on Sept. 21. It is not on Tuesday’s hearing list.

Day care: by right, with notice

CB-035-2026, sponsored by Oriadha, aims to increase the number of child-care facilities by loosening zoning rules. According to its background statement, the bill would:

The Planning Board supported the proposal in April, and the committee recommended it with amendments on Sept. 17 after holding it in May, the record shows.

Also on the docket

The notice lists more than a dozen other bills, including CB-083-2026, which would bar convenience stores from selling tobacco products after a transition period, and CB-111-2026, which would authorize up to $215 million in special obligation bonds to refund National Harbor’s 2022 bonds and help finance the planned Sphere immersive entertainment venue.

The Inquisitor is seeking comment from Oriadha’s office, Blegay’s office, the council’s Office of Communications, the Prince George’s County Planning Department and Maryland Family Network.