Sugarloaf Alliance

In this Newsletter:

1. NEW SA PETITION: Prohibit Data Centers in the Sugarloaf Plan Area

2. PLAN TO ATTEND! Overlay District Hearing on Tues., 12/12, 5:30pm

3. Advocate for Transparency: Invest in Open Government

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1. NEW PETITION: Prohibit Data Centers in the Sugarloaf Plan Area

 

Here’s the text of the petition:

The Sugarloaf Rural Heritage Overlay Zoning District ("the Overlay District") again is before the Frederick County Council. County records released recently (by court order) and Council Member comments make it clear that data center development in the foothills of Sugarloaf Mountain continues to be a threat.

We, the undersigned, call on the Frederick County Council to amend and pass the Sugarloaf Rural Heritage Overlay Zoning District amendment to the Sugarloaf Plan in order to prevent data center development in the Sugarloaf region. Specifically, we ask the County Council to:

• amend the Plan and Overlay text to add Critical Digital Infrastructure (data centers) to the list of prohibited uses within the Overlay boundary;

• retain the Overlay boundary as recommended twice by the Planning Commission, thereby limiting development on the west side of I-270; and

• pass this amended Overlay District without further delay.

 

The county CDI Floating Zone map below, released to Sugarloaf Alliance by court order, illustrates the problem. In this draft plan, outlined parcels #3 and #4 overlap the Sugarloaf Plan boundary (outlined in green). As we have said many times, data centers are massive industrial buildings totally inconsistent with the historical and rural character of the area and destructive to the sensitive natural environment here. (For example, see the conceptual plan for the 474 acre Thurston Road cut-out, area #4.) 

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The County Council will hold a hearing on Tuesday, 12/12 and could opt to amend Sugarloaf Plan language. Please join us in asking for an amendment to add Critical Digital Infrastructure (data centers) to the list of prohibited uses within the Overlay boundary. Click here to sign the petition and leave comments. 

 

Please note that change.org may ask you for donations. Those donations go to change.org, not to 

Sugarloaf Alliance.

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2. PLAN TO ATTEND! Overlay District Hearing on Tues., 12/12, 5:30pm

Winchester Hall, 12 E. Church Street, Frederick

 

The County Council will hold a hearing on Tuesday, December 12, beginning at 5:30pm, to hear public comment on the Sugarloaf Rural Heritage Overlay Zoning District amendment to the Sugarloaf Plan. Sugarloaf Alliance believes this may be the “do or die” moment in the community’s effort to support preservation. Please plan to be there. Please continue to share your comments with County Council by email; click here for the addresses. Please share this information and encourage your friends and neighbors to comment and show up.

 

In addition to the petition language above, the talking points are the same as always (click here for more talking points). The Sugarloaf Alliance supports:

 

• The Overlay’s I-270 boundary from Montgomery County to the Monocacy.

• The Overlay and the Plan’s preservation goals for the Sugarloaf area, which include the following:

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  -  “To address the scale and visual impact of land uses and developments that can degrade rural qualities, excessively burden the transportation network, and overwhelm the scenic and rural nature of the Sugarloaf Planning area

  -  “To minimize adverse impacts of land development activities on forestlands and natural habitats

  -  “To regulate the amount of impervious surfaces to control the volume of stormwater runoff and stream bank erosion, maintain levels of groundwater infiltration, and retain as many of the functions provided by natural land as possible”.

 

On 12/19, the County Council is scheduled to vote, including consideration of proposed amendments. If the 

Sugarloaf Rural Heritage Overlay Zoning District amendment to the Sugarloaf Plan is amended, the process will continue into January. If four members of the County Council vote against the Overlay on the 19th, it’s our understanding that consideration of the Overlay is finished. Right now, we can’t count four votes in favor of the Overlay. If the Overlay fails, the Sugarloaf Plan (which is the visionary statement regarding land use) remains in place but it’s not a zoning law - it has no teeth to help us fight development going forward. The County Council needs to hear NOW where voters stand on the issue of dense and industrial development in the Sugarloaf Plan area.

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3. Advocate for Transparency: Please Invest in Open Government

 

Sugarloaf Alliance has been making use of the Maryland Public Information Access Law (MPIA) to learn how Frederick County is managing land use and planning - behind the closed doors, and especially as regards data centers - in the greater Sugarloaf Mountain area. This summer, the Circuit Court awarded Sugarloaf Alliance nearly 800 pages of documents requested from the county, which revealed backroom discussions and a draft map showing 9,400 acres of data center development in the Sugarloaf area and southwestern Frederick County (the map shown above). The next step in the legal process was to resolve who pays court costs. The decision says that Sugarloaf Alliance prevailed, yet the Circuit Court awarded Sugarloaf Alliance only $25,000, less than half of current court costs (read the decision here). Our mission in this case continues to be government transparency; placing a heavy financial burden on citizens seeking public information discourages legitimate inquiries. 

 

Sugarloaf Alliance has filed to appeal. We are proud to say that the Public Justice Center shares our view of the meaning of the Maryland Public Information Access (MPIA) law and has agreed to represent us in our appeal. (Click on the link and check them out! They do important social justice work in the state.) However, the County hasn’t changed it’s view about what information is ok to withhold from the public; they are counter-appealing.

 

We ask you to invest in open government by donating to the Sugarloaf Alliance. The CDI (data center) Floating Zone map above (and other documents) obtained through our lawsuit have contributed significantly to county residents’ ability to address data center sprawl before it’s too late to stop it.  

 

Most of Sugarloaf Alliance's activities don’t cost the organization very much, but our legal pursuits in the interest of government transparency do. If you also believe that the government’s work is the people’s business, and if you have the means to help us in that mission - a little or a lot - please visit the donate page at our website.  

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Thank you!