Following a three-month extension of a moratorium on new data center developments in Prince George’s County, Maryland, the county council has enacted new legislation this week intended to halt progress on a current project located at the site of the former Landover Mall.
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“In 2021, a loophole was created that permitted the Brightseat Park development to move forward, which would have placed a data center in Landover, alarmingly close to a residential area,” remarked council member Shayla Adams Stafford, whose district encompasses the site, explaining her support for the legislation on Tuesday.
The council had previously opted in 2021 to remove itself from the approval process, hoping to expedite the construction of data centers.
According to Adams Stafford, the newly passed law mandates that the Brightseat Park application must go before the county council once more, effectively dooming the proposal given the significant opposition it faces.
Moving forward, applications for new data centers will be subjected to a more extensive review process that includes detailed site plans taking into account the utilization of adjacent land.
Additionally, the legislation establishes a more rigorous public review process for proposed facilities, ensuring that the council retains authority over each application.
This legislative move comes in response to growing public opposition to the Landover project, which was a catalyst for the county’s first-ever data center development moratorium in 2025. Council members previously expressed frustration over being kept in the dark about the plans until they were nearly finalized.
Further complications in other facets of the pre-construction process have caused delays for the project, extending back to 2021.
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