Inside the Qualified Data Center Task Force: What It Did, What It Found, and What Comes Next

The Qualified Data Center Task Force has released its long-awaited report, and it marks a significant shift in how Prince George’s County is approaching data centers. Residents raised serious concerns over the past year—environmental risks, land-use conflicts, and a broken public process—and the Task Force’s recommendations directly respond to many of those issues. Some gaps remain, and we’ll unpack those in this five-part series. But first, here’s what the Task Force actually did.

Why the Task Force Was Formed

The County Council established the Qualified Data Center Task Force under CR-016-2025, charging it with examining the “potential risks, community benefits, and revenue potential” of data centers in Prince George’s County. The group formally launched on April 15, 2025, and held seven public meetings between May and November. Its membership included 19 representatives from County agencies, environmental and technical experts, community stakeholders, and data center industry participants.

Through technical presentations, internal deliberations, roundtables, and community input, the Task Force developed six guiding principles that shaped its fourteen policy recommendations:

1. Promote compatible and sensitive land use. Residents repeatedly raised concerns about industrial-scale development encroaching on neighborhoods. This principle aims to ensure data centers are placed only where they truly fit.

   
   

2. Protect the environment. High energy use, water demand, and emissions drove much of the public pushback. The report calls for development that delivers a “net neutral or positive” environmental impact.

   
   

3. Maintain community character. The Task Force acknowledges that data centers can undermine the look and feel of established neighborhoods and proposes stronger design expectations and siting limits.

   
   

4. Ensure a transparent and inclusive process. The Task Force heard clearly that communities were sidelined in previous approvals. This principle underscores the need for a public, accountable review process.

   
   

5. Maximize local economic benefits. Beyond tax revenue, the report calls for deeper economic returns through local hiring, small-business participation, and workforce development.

   
   

6. Invest in local social infrastructure. Data centers should contribute positively to schools, libraries, parks, and other public assets that support community life.

These principles form the backbone of the fourteen policy recommendations that follow in the report, each with a proposed implementation path, responsible agencies, and a timeline.

What Happens Next

The Task Force proposes several immediate steps:

• A final public meeting to gather community input on the recommendations.

  
  

• Prioritization of key zoning and policy amendments to streamline implementation.

  
  

• Further economic analysis to evaluate revenue impacts and local hiring potential.

  
  

• Ongoing monitoring—potentially by M-NCPPC or a new Community Advisory Group—to track project impacts, community benefits, and trend data over time.

Looking Ahead

In the next posts of this series, we’ll break down the Task Force recommendations and compare them directly with the Smart Digital Growth framework that GCHIC has advanced over the past year. We’ll identify where the Task Force made meaningful progress and where additional work is needed to ensure that digital infrastructure grows in a way that’s sustainable, equitable, and aligned with Plan 2035.

If you want to stay engaged—and you should—the next public hearing will be the key moment to weigh in before any legislation moves forward.