Fitzwater rejects $110 million data center agreement, extends Frederick County moratorium to July 2027
Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater rejected the proposed Catellus agreement after public opposition and extended the pause on new data center applications through July 1, 2027.
HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW
Fitzwater rejected Catellus’ proposed $110 million community benefits agreement. The deal was tied to the Frederick Digital Campus near Adamstown. It would have restricted certain future zoning changes affecting Catellus properties. The county’s moratorium on new data center applications now runs through July 1, 2027. The proposed package included $30 million for Carroll Manor Elementary School and millions more for parks, workforce development, land preservation and recreation. Those developer-funded benefits are no longer secured through this agreement. The moratorium does not undo previously approved data center development.
Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater has rejected the proposed $110 million community benefits agreement with Catellus Real Estate Development, reversing course two weeks after publicly announcing the tentative deal.
Fitzwater said Monday that public feedback convinced her the agreement required the county to give up too much future regulatory flexibility in exchange for the proposed community benefits. She also extended Frederick County’s pause on new data center applications from the end of this year through July 1, 2027.
Frederick County confirmed both decisions in an official announcement, saying Fitzwater rejected Catellus’ application for a Development Rights and Responsibilities Agreement covering the Frederick Digital Campus in Adamstown and signed an executive order extending the moratorium.
The proposed agreement would have frozen certain county zoning rules on Catellus properties where data centers are being developed near Adamstown.
Fitzwater said the proposed benefits would have addressed real community needs, but concluded that shielding such a rapidly changing industry from future local regulations carried too high a cost. She also said public comments made clear that many residents wanted additional data center decisions delayed until a new County Council is seated and the state completes its impact study.
The decision eliminates, at least for now, a package of proposed developer-funded benefits that included tens of millions of dollars for schools, recreation, workforce development and environmental projects.
The original proposal included $30 million for Carroll Manor Elementary School, $30 million for a new Adamstown park, $14.5 million for workforce development, $10.5 million for land-preservation easements, $10 million for youth recreation facilities, $10 million for screening and trails, $5 million for a solar project and $1 million for a new Carroll Manor fire engine. It also included 433 acres of proposed nature reserve.
County officials had originally described the package as an unprecedented community investment. The county’s Sept. 1 announcement also said Catellus would reduce planned data center square footage, lower potable-water usage and provide nature-reserve acreage.
One of the immediate consequences involves Carroll Manor Elementary School.
School board President Dean Rose said he was disappointed by the loss of the proposed $30 million renovation commitment. Rose said he will continue pushing for modernization and environmental mitigation at the school, which sits near the Quantum Frederick data center development.
The county acknowledged that without the agreement, there is currently no developer funding in place for the renovations Catellus had proposed to pay for.
Reaction to Fitzwater’s decision crossed political lines.
Her Republican opponent for county executive, former Frederick Mayor Jeff Holtzinger, agreed the agreement should not move forward but argued it should have been stopped earlier and called for a longer moratorium. County Council members Jerry Donald, a Democrat, and Steve McKay, a Republican, also said rejecting the deal was the right decision.
Members of the Frederick County Data Center Referendum Committee also welcomed the rejection while calling for greater transparency about how the original agreement was developed.
The moratorium does not eliminate data center development already approved or underway. It prevents Frederick County from accepting new applications during the pause.
WHAT IT MEANS
The biggest change is not simply the loss of a $110 million benefits package.
By rejecting the agreement, Frederick County preserves its ability to change local regulations affecting the Catellus properties rather than locking in existing rules for an extended period.
At the same time, the decision means community projects that had been tied to the deal — including a major Carroll Manor Elementary renovation — no longer have that promised developer funding.
The extended moratorium also pushes any new data center applications beyond the seating of the next County Council and gives the county additional time to consider the state’s forthcoming impact study.
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