Montgomery County, Maryland: the data center moratorium and what to do during it
Updated October 2026
On July 28, 2026 the Montgomery County Council voted 11 to 0 for an 18-month moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, running into early 2028, after the County Executive's six-month permitting pause in June. A companion zoning text amendment gives the county its first legal definition of a data center. Pending applications are affected.
What the timeline looks like
| Step | Typical duration or status | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Executive permitting pause | Six months, signed June 2026 by the County Executive | Executive order; preceded the council bill |
| Council moratorium (Expedited Bill 19-26) | 18 months from July 28, 2026, to early 2028; passed 11 to 0 | Council action; applies to pending applications, including a proposed Dickerson project |
| Zoning text amendment (ZTA 26-01) | Defines a data center in the county zoning code and limits hyperscale use for now | Council action; definition thresholds set in the ZTA text |
| County study during the pause | Water and power impacts, broader effects, long-term rules, alongside a state review | County staff and state process |
| After the moratorium | New rules expected; by-right status, districts and conditions not yet known | Outcome of the study and council vote in 2028 |
Dates and vote counts are from Montgomery County Council announcements and local reporting; the ZTA's exact thresholds should be read from the adopted text.
What slows projects here
- A moratorium is binary. Nothing filed during it moves, and because this one reaches pending applications, time already spent on a site plan does not count.
- The rules that will apply afterward do not exist yet. Designing to today's zoning risks a second redesign in 2028.
- Montgomery County is one of more than a dozen counties and cities that passed data center moratoria in 2025 to 2026, so the same pattern is live in neighboring jurisdictions, and opposition groups coordinate across them.
- Power and water are the stated reasons for the pause, which means the eventual rules will likely carry utility capacity letters and water conditions as entitlement prerequisites, as York County, Virginia already does.
What to do about it
- Use the 18 months on the parts of the approval chain the county does not control: the utility large-load study, the state air permit pathway, wetlands determinations, and lender diligence.
- Track the ZTA and the county study as live requirements with a monitoring alert, so the first draft of post-moratorium rules reaches the project team the day it is published.
- Build the community-benefit and engagement case now, on noise, water and power, with the county's own study as the frame. The 2028 hearing starts today.
- Score alternative parcels in jurisdictions without a moratorium on time-to-approvals plus time-to-power, not land price.
Plan this jurisdiction with the register already loaded
PowerPMIS's entitlement gate builds the full requirements register for one live project in two to three weeks, puts every hearing, review and utility step on your critical path, and lists what you can challenge. Fixed fee by project size.
Book a requirements auditSources
- Montgomery County Council, Council approves 18-month data center moratorium (Jul 2026)
- MyMCMedia, Montgomery County pauses new data centers for 18 months — July 28, 2026 vote; Expedited Bill 19-26; ZTA 26-01
- WTOP, Montgomery County rolls out a six-month moratorium on data center permits (Jun 2026)
- Montgomery County, Data center update memo (Jul 15, 2026)
- Bethesda Magazine, Council develops definition of data center for zoning code
- Data Center Watch via DCD, local opposition tally — industry-funded; directional
Timelines are general information drawn from the sources listed, not advice on a specific project. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the authority.