Ag Reserve Farm Tour, Dickerson Data Center Update

The 2026 Montgomery County Farm Tour and Harvest Sale will take place on Saturday and Sunday, July 25-26. Featuring 26 agricultural locations throughout the County’s Agricultural Reserve (AR), it brings home what the AR is all about.

Visitors can sample craft beverages at eight participating farms. Flower enthusiasts can find botanical beauty at five farms, and foodies can enjoy browsing local produce, farm-raised meats, and specialty items at seven farms.

The annual event showcases the 93,000-acre Ag Reserve—which has more than 77% of its area protected through agricultural easements and has served as a national model of farmland preservation since 1980. There are more than 580 farms and 350 horticultural businesses located throughout the Ag Reserve. These agricultural businesses are vital as they pump more than $280 million into the County’s economy.

You can read all about the tour and the participating farms here.

County Council Pledges to Hit Pause on Data Centers

County Council leadership on July 15 announced they would deliberate and vote on a data center moratorium bill this month.

In addition, the Council will clarify that approvals of large-scale data centers will be 100% prohibited in Montgomery County during the moratorium, and until new zoning rules define them and govern where data centers might be allowed, how they get built, and guardrails on their operation. That drafting process is underway.

As you may recall, two Council members have proposed two separate bills that would impose moratoriums—one for six months and one for two years—on approval of any data center,cincluding one proposed by a company called Atmosphere, to be built in Dickerson.

The Council held public hearings on these bills on June 16. Some 80 people testified. The vast majority supported a moratorium; most spoke in favor of two years. Hundreds of people have submitted written statements as well.

Thus, this development is a victory for County residents’ advocacy on data centers.

The Council President, Natali Fani-Gonzalez, Vice-President Marilyn Balcombe and Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles announced a schedule of committee meetings on data centers for the week on July 20.

The Economic Development (ECON) Committee will meet on Wednesday, July 22, to review the two moratorium bills (Bill 19-26 and Bill 24-26). If the committee favors one of the bills, it will proceed to full Council for a work session and action on Tuesday, July 28.

The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will also meet on July 22. It will review progress on drafting zoning ordinance (zoning text amendment or ZTA) 26-01.

That measure aims to establish clear definitions and rules on data centers. The PHP Committee will review an amendment—put forth by Fani-González, Balcombe and Sayles—that would, for now, prohibit hyperscale data centers in all zones.

The amended (but still draft) ZTA, the County leaders said, will serve as a bridge between the current zoning ordinance and the future ZTA that will address the complex issues in play.

The reasons for a moratorium are cogent, consistent and specific:

• County government (executive branch and the County Council) does not yet have enough information on the risks posed by large-scale data centers to make fully informed decisions.

• The Council needs more time to draft the zoning ordinance and companion regulations.

• County residents are increasingly engaged in the data center debate but are just getting on the learning curve on the many technical issues and details involved.

The County Executive, Marc Elrich, in early June imposed a 6-month administrative moratorium on any data center approvals by County agencies. On June 16, County residents told the Council that it must join the County Executive in enacting a moratorium—to assure that all bases (including legal) are covered.

Read our updated (July 15) web post for more information.

Take Action

It’s not too late to weigh in with emails, calls, testimony or activism. Tell Council members to enact a moratorium this month.

Go to Montgomery Countryside Alliance (MCA) and Climate Coalition Montgomery County for information on the upcoming committee and Council meetings, and how to contact County Council members.

We also welcome your comments to us directly on the Dickerson project at info@sugarloafcitizens.org.

SCA testified on June 16. Here’s a link to our oral statement.

SCA’s August 29 Farm-to-Table Dinner Fundraiser

Tickets are now on sale on our website for this wonderful event. Here’s the direct link to the webpage. And below is the flyer with QR code. Please share with friends. There’s a cap on the number of people who can attend and ticket sales have been robust. So don’t miss out! We’d love to have you join us.