Prince George's Council Reinstates Site Plan Review for Data Centers, Ending the 2021 Fast Track

The Prince George's County Council has approved legislation that removes development privileges previously granted to data centers in the county. The bill ends an exemption, approved in 2021, that allowed data center developers to bypass a detailed site plan review - a step in the county's permitting process for larger projects that includes an in-depth review and a public hearing.

The legislation was introduced in January by District 1 council member Thomas Dernoga, council chair Krystal Oriadha and at-large council member Wala Blegay, and it passed 10-0-1 in the council's last legislative session before Tuesday's elections. District 2 member Wanika Fisher abstained after the council declined her amendment, which would have required data center proposals to come before the council for approval; other members said the amendment would have required an additional public hearing and delayed the bill, since there is no further council meeting until December. District 5 member Shayla Adams-Stafford said the legislation was created to ensure data center applications will no longer bypass the site plan review, as the now-shuttered Landover Mall site did - a proposed $5 billion project in her district that drew resident concern after it went through the fast-tracked process.

The vote does not end the county's pause on new projects. The council is operating under a two-year moratorium it approved in July on reviewing and approving new data center applications; the pause would expire automatically in July 2028 if the council fails to implement zoning regulations. A county data center task force, established in April 2025, is assessing the community impacts and economic prospects of the projects, and Adams-Stafford said any regulation bill should follow what the task force advises. The council's next scheduled meeting is December 8, when the newly elected council will be introduced.