Carroll County, MD Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Moratoriums (2026)

' That freeze reaches every stage of the approval pipeline, intake, staff review, and final sign-off, not merely construction, so an applicant cannot even get a plan logged for a new data processing center anywhere in the unincorporated county while the moratorium runs. 002 as 'a building or group of buildings used to house computer systems, computer storage equipment, and associated infrastructure that businesses or other organizations use to organize, process, store, and disseminate large amounts of data,' meaning the pause covers everything from a modest colocation building to a large hyperscale campus.

The one-year clock runs from the February 19, 2026 effective date, so absent an extension or repeal by the County Commissioners it lapses in February 2027. Because the county has not yet adopted a permitted-use table entry, district list, or dimensional standard for data processing centers (a separate siting question this deferral does not answer), the moratorium functions as a placeholder while the Commissioners work out permanent siting rules.