Scope
Baltimore City Ordinance 26-128 (Council Bill 26-0158, "Data Centers – Moratorium") amends Article 32 (Zoning) of the Baltimore City Code to add data centers to the list of uses prohibited in all zoning districts of the City, adds a data center definition, excludes data centers from the office and research-and-development use definitions, and provides for the termination of the prohibition after a stated period. The third-reader text defines a data center by reference to a facility used primarily for the remote storage, processing and distribution of data that is capable of using 10 megawatts or more of electricity.
- Geographic scope
- Baltimore City, Maryland
- Jurisdiction
- Local
- Authority type
- Local government
- Issuing authority
- Mayor and City Council of Baltimore
Dates
- Adopted
- 16 June 2026
- Effective
- Several dates apply; see the source
- Scheduled expiration
- See completion condition
- Ended
- Not recorded as ended
- Completion condition
- The third-reader text provides that the prohibition is abrogated one year after it takes effect or is enacted, with no further Council action; the extracted redline shows both the struck and the adopted versions of these sections, so no calendar end day is stored.
- Source document
- The source page states no document date
- Last checked
- 2 October 2026 (earlier than tracker date 5 October 2026; not an automatic status change)
Summary
Baltimore City Council adopted Council Bill 26-0158, "Data Centers – Moratorium", on 11 May 2026, and the Mayor signed it on 16 June 2026 as Ordinance 26-128. It adds data centers, defined in the third-reader text by a 10-megawatt capability element, to the zoning uses prohibited in all districts of the City and removes them from the office and research-and-development use definitions. The prohibition is written to end automatically after one year, and the ordinance directs a report recommending a data center definition and conditional-use standards. It applies only in Baltimore City.
What this does not establish
- The status and dates come from the Baltimore City Legistar record (Enacted; Enactment 26-128; signed by the Mayor 16 June 2026). The signed ordinance and the tc copy are image-only scans; the terms are taken from the text-layer third reader.
- The third reader is a redline: its extracted text cannot show which Section 4/Section 5 wording was struck, so whether the ordinance took effect on enactment or 30 days later, and the exact one-year end day, are not stored.
- Two later bills are separate and pending in committee: 26-0217 (a data center over 5 megawatts moratorium) and 26-0174 (conditional use with a health equity assessment).
- This is a Baltimore City zoning measure, not a Maryland statute; it does not by itself close an existing facility.
Unresolved questions
- The exact day on which the one-year prohibition ends.
- Whether the City adopts conditional-use standards after the required report.
Relationships
Supersession means a later instrument replaces the earlier legal effect. Repeal links identify the repeal instrument and the measure it ends. A later implementation or related letter is not treated as a replacement unless the record says so.
- No related action is recorded.
Sources
https://baltimore.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7958934&GUID=0F67C3A9-D166-4BFE-91D3-10070032F578