There is so much “noise” in the media (local, state, national) about data centers that I find it difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. One phrase, however, stands out: i.e., the talk of “community benefits” derived from data centers. Interestingly, data center developers and the tech industry, along with many local and state officials tout good paying jobs, workforce development, local revenue and economic investment, infrastructure improvements, and more but they neglect to mention the costs—strains on water and electric resources, crowded roads, noise, diminished value of surrounding (mostly residential) properties, and so on. To counteract, or perhaps to obscure, the failure of the industry to assertively address the costs, another “community benefit” is being promoted by local officials as well as (and maybe in coordination with) the industry--what I would call the “shiny objects” a community would love to have in their midst: e.g., a new library, a community park with walking trails, a swimming pool or activities center. Certainly, communities would love these amenities but not at the expense of a healthy neighborhood. To me, the most enduring community benefit would be retention of the viewscape, the ability to sit out on my deck without being assaulted by the noise generated by a hyperscale data center up to 90' tall and 500’ (or less?) from the back yard, a well with clear water rather than one filled with toxins.
I, and many of my friends, find the “shiny object” proposal patronizing and, frankly, insulting. I strongly urge members of the Frederick City Council to think long and hard when both the industry-driven “benefits” and the “shiny objects” are presented to you as being the reasons to jump onto the data center bandwagon. We will all suffer if you do.

Marge Rosensweig
Citizens Way