Apr 23, 2026 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
Local authorities in Harford County, Maryland, are considering a 90-day moratorium on data center development in response to a proposal to build a facility at a local golf course. Councilman Jacob Bennett, who introduced Bill 26-005, said the pause would give the county “plenty of time to research the issue and draft legislation to regulate and control this new industry before any developer attempts to bring it here to Harford County.”
Bills must undergo committee review and public hearings before the relevant authority—in this case, the Harford County Council can vote on them. During yesterday’s council meeting, another councilmember confirmed that an unidentified developer is exploring plans to build a data center at Mountain Branch Golf Course, according to WMAR Baltimore.
However, no formal planning application appears to have been submitted at this stage. Posts shared by local residents on Facebook claim the developer is US-based data center firm CloudHQ, though this has not been independently verified. DCD has reached out to CloudHQ for comment. Opposition to the proposal has been strong. At the time of writing, a private Facebook group titled “Our Land. Our Home. Our Harford” has gathered around 1,300 members, while a petition opposing data center development in the county has attracted more than 900 signatures.
