Hurlock Discusses Moratorium on Data Centers

(HURLOCK, Md) – Communities across the Eastern Shore are making decisions surrounding data centers.

The town of Hurlock is just the latest Delmarva community to put a pause on development surrounding AI data centers in the area.

A decision Town Council President, Russell Murphy says came relatively quickly.

“So we wanted to get a jump on it. And again, you know, be proactive, get ahead of the game. Did a lot of research about data centers, and, our neighbor Federalsburg has been having a lot of trouble, so we thought, you know, we’d get something passed,” says Russell.

The difference for Hurlock compared to other communities and even Dorchester County comes down to the length of the moratorium.

With many communities issuing a one year moratoriums, Hurlock is opting for three years, so they can collect the information they need.

Russell tells WMDT, “We think that by the time they get their information back, it’s going by the time it trickles down to municipality. I just think three years is what I proposed and what the council voted on because we we can always go back…”

With the three year moratorium effective immediately. The town council is getting a chance to take a step back and see what Dorchester County does, as far as a long term decision goes with data centers.