08/21/2026
I KNOW this legislation might SEEM off-brand for me.
My work as a public health scientist gives me a glimpse into strategies and maneuvers that aren't always obvious to the eye. Data center zoning is not where you usually find me, but that is exactly why I could not sit this one out.
My work across the country shows me what comes after these moratoriums, which I wholeheartedly support. Data centers are landing in the same kinds of neighborhoods every single time: working-class, industrial, often Black and brown communities that have absorbed more than their share of pollution and noise and heat. Baltimore is not exempt from that pattern, because our zoning map already points straight to our neighborhoods.
So here is the truth about Bill 26-0174.
Right now, the moratorium is holding the line, and I thank Councilmember Zeke Cohen and our Baltimore City Council for that. But it is temporary. When it lifts, we have no permanent rules in place, which means companies could file applications here because the map already allows it.
This bill puts guardrails in place before they show up, so we are not left with no framework at all. Quite the opposite of an invitation to build. It puts health findings on the record, in front of the councilmember and the community. This is not a checklist that guarantees a permit once a developer ticks the boxes. It is evidence that has to be weighed, in public, before anything moves. It requires health evidence on the record BEFORE any permit, and a full City Council process with public hearings and votes.
This is about putting the community first, as always.
The Planning Commission hears this bill on Thursday, August 27. Come testify and get it on the record.
