East Frederick Rising

This morning, the City of Frederick and Frederick County Government unveiled two new online dashboards that track implementation of their Community-Wide Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP). Through those dashboards, Frederick City and County residents can now follow the community’s progress toward a more resilient, sustainable future.

In his remarks at the unveiling event this morning, Mayor O’Conner acknowledged that “Some projects will happen quickly, some will take years to complete. Funding, design, construction all affect how quickly we can move and residents should be able to follow that process, including when a project is taking longer than we want it to.”

Mayor O’Conner said that “after all of their advocacy, residents should be able to see how the City and County are following through on their climate commitments. They should be able to find out what projects are underway, how far along they are, and what work still remains.”

The climate dashboard “makes it easier to follow for projects featured on the dashboard. Residents can see the status, they can see budgets and estimated timelines, and as that work progresses, this is our way to keep the community informed of our progress”.

According to the Mayor, “Transportation accounts for nearly half of the city's greenhouse gas emissions. Projects like the East Street Rails with trails and the Golden Mile Multimodal Lane will give residents more options for getting where they need to go. The dashboard will help people follow these projects as they move forward.”

“Our tree planting and stream restoration work serves another important purpose, more shade helps during hot weather, healthy streams and green spaces help us manage water and protect the places that people use every day. Projects at Abraham Fall Run [in Monocacy Village Park] and along Carroll Creek are part of those efforts.”

He continued, “I encourage everyone to explore the dashboard, to look at the projects that matter to you and to your neighborhood, to follow the progress, and to ask us questions. We have much more work ahead, and this gives the public a better way to see how we're doing. Thank you.”

We will be making full use of this dashboard and hope you do too! Check it out here:

Frederick Climate & Energy Action Plan Performance Dashboard https://performance.envisio.com/dashboard/city-of-frederick

Frederick City & County launch public dashboards to track community climate and energy progress.

New online tools give residents a clearer view of City and County projects, priorities, and progress.

Frederick City and County residents can now follow the community’s progress toward a more resilient, sustainable future through two new online dashboards that track implementation of their Community-Wide Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP).
City and County staff, together with the support of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, jointly produced the CEAP in 2025. The CEAP establishes a roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting Frederick’s quality of life as the region prepares for the impacts of a changing climate. The CEAP was developed with extensive participation from residents, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other community partners. More than 500 people participated in public meetings, workshops and events during development of the plan, and more than 650 residents responded to community surveys on climate impacts.

The City and County CEAP Dashboards serve as centralized platforms for climate strategies, ongoing projects, and actionable data. Residents can easily view Frederick’s commitments and track progress being made toward the shared goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent below 2010 levels by 2030, with the aim of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
“Setting goals is important, but so is showing our residents how we are working toward them” said City of Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor, “This dashboard gives our community a window into the work.”

Both dashboards highlight projects in key areas, including transportation, energy, forestry, waste, and buildings. The City CEAP dashboard tracks City-specific projects while the County dashboard tracks countywide data.

“Creating a Climate and Energy Action Plan was an important step, but what matters most is putting that plan into action,” said County Executive Jessica Fitzwater. “This dashboard gives our community a transparent way to see the work underway, follow our progress, and hold us accountable to the commitments we have made for Frederick County's future.”

Residents can explore efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and participate in projects that help the community prepare for and respond to climate-related impacts such as flooding, drought, and extreme heat.

Frederick City and County expect to update the dashboards regularly as new data becomes available. Dashboard metrics will also be incorporated into the City’s Sustainability Annual Report, creating another way for the public to follow progress over time.

Explore the Climate Action Progress Dashboards and read the Community-Wide Climate and Energy Action Plan:
City of Frederick: frederickmd.gov/climate-action
Frederick County Government: www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/ClimateAction

For More information visit: https://cityoffrederickmd.gov/m/NewsFlash/home/detail/8296

The City of Frederick invites residents, commuters, business owners, parents, students, and neighbors to provide input on the future design of North Market Street, from 7th Street to Routzahn Way.

The City is launching a study on how to make North Market Street safer and easier to navigate for everyone. To achieve this, the City is evaluating safer bicycling infrastructure along North Market Street and Routzahn Way and evaluating the feasibility of modern roundabouts at the intersections with North East Street and Routzahn Way.

The workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 29, from 6:30-8:30pm at the Municipal Annex, 140 West Patrick Street. To provide input or to register to attend, please visit https://bit.ly/n-market. Late arrivals welcome.

At the workshop, residents will be able to:

• Learn how protected bike lanes and modern roundabouts work to improve safety;

• Share their thoughts, concerns, opportunities, and firsthand knowledge of the North Market Street corridor;

• Talk with your community about how proposed improvements can best meet the needs of the North Market corridor.

Since North Market Street serves as a critical corridor for Governor Thomas John Middle and High Schools, activities will be available for middle school and high school students to give their feedback, too.

The project is supported by a $288,000 grant from the US Department of Transportation’s Carbon Reduction program, matched with $72,000 in City funds. The project is funded through 100% design, and it is expected to take two years to be shovel-ready.

https://cityoffrederickmd.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/8286

Public Input Sought: North Market Street Bikeway and Safety Improvements Workshop The City of Frederick invites residents, commuters, business owners, parents, students, and neighbors to provide input on the future design of North Market Street, from 7th Street to Routzahn Way.&nbs

A message from our friends at Citizens for Responsible Growth:

The Planning Commission will be considering data centers within City of Frederick limits.

Please submit your comments or attend.

City Planning Commission Workshop
Monday, September 21 at 2:00 pm — City Hall


Land use attorney Bruce Dean and Texas builder Trammell Crow have proposed a Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA)/Ordinance to build massive hyperscale data centers and AI Factories in the City of Frederick on Gas House Pike, next to the Monocacy River.

We do not want to go down the road of Frederick County, where the Industry had significant say in writing the county ordinances.

If you believe, as we do, that these massive facilities do not belong in densely populated Frederick City, we ask you to urge the Planning Commission to deny Dean/Trammel Crow their proposed Zoning Text Amendment / Ordinance.

Attend the workshop on Monday, Sept. 21 at 2 pm. If you can’t attend, write to the Planning Commission. Copy the City Council on your correspondence — the ZTA/Ordinance will be considered by them, next. (see email addresses below)

Planning Commission Workshop info
(See Item III – for the Data Center Discussion)

As voiced in their Workshop on June 15, the City Planning Commission seemed likely to recommend denial of the ZTA. Commissioner Montes was emphatic that hyperscale data centers do not belong in Frederick, a densely populated city. Chair Llewellyn and Vice Chair Robey were equally concerned about the negative effect on this city. The Planning Commission needs to hear that you support their convictions.


Concerns about the proposed ZTA/Ordinance

The ZTA calls for “a Permitted Use, allowed 'by-right'” (P); “by-right” use means that if an applicant complies with the standards established for the use, the development plans must be approved. This privilege is being asked for massive buildings, 90 feet tall and 250 feet long. This means any property already zoned “Light Industrial” can have an AI Factory approved with no further review and no community input. Additional land could be annexed into the city for the same purpose.

Imagine the hundreds of emergency diesel generators needed for each hyperscale AI Factory. Each 16-cylinder diesel generator is equivalent in size to the ones that pull MARC trains. The diesel generators must be tested on a rotating basis, producing daily noise and pollution.

Diesel exhaust is assigned Class A carcinogen status by the EPA. In an emergency, the pollution from the diesel generators will pollute the air in the area (Dearbought, Gas House Pike, etc.), which consists of thousands of homes and a proposed elementary school. Transmission towers 90 feet high would be visible to hundreds of homes. Intense security lighting will be visible at night from many homes, and noise and vibrations from a mass of generators and chiller equipment will cause a constant 24/7/365 annoyance.

The large number of generators will require storage of huge amounts of diesel fuel on site near the Monocacy. If a rupture occurs, it could pollute the river that supplies water for many communities downstream.

Rather than a prescribed setback measured from the data center property line, the ZTA/Ordinance calls for a complicated method of measuring distance to the nearest home or school, which adds unnecessary complication.


We propose a rejection of the ZTA/Ordinance and a moratorium on data centers at least until July 1, 2027, the new date set by the County. This will allow our elected officials to study the impact that hyperscale data centers and AI Factories could have upon this community, so they can create the necessary guardrails. That seems reasonable for a densely populated city like Frederick. Many communities in Maryland have declared data center moratoriums and outright bans.


What you can do

Don’t be a passive observer. We do not want to become another Adamstown.

We urge you to write and support the Planning Commission. Please ask your friends and neighbors to do likewise. A data center hub in the City will affect all of us.


Write the Planning Commission at: [email protected]

Write the City Council at:

Council President, Cesar Diaz, [email protected]

Council Vice-President, Katie Nash, [email protected]

Council Member Peter Brehm (Gas House Pike is within his district), [email protected]

Council Member Joe Atkins (Dearbought is within his district), [email protected]

Council Member Libby Taylor, [email protected]

Council Member Derek Shakleford, [email protected]

Council Member Sarah Hemple Irani, [email protected]

D-BAT Frederick found a home in East Frederick! Located near the Frederick Municipal Airport, they’re targeting a January 2027 opening date. Give them a follow!

The City of Frederick has hosted many community meetings to gather community input as part of the process of designing our public spaces. From the 7th Street plaza, to Carroll Creek Refresh, to Hill Street Park and Westside Regional Park, public input is used to build what the community wants, to bring their vision to life.

Which meetings have you attended? And, which spaces would you like to see use this process in East Frederick?

We will share more details as they become available.

Join Frederick Chats: Small Groups. Big Ideas. at WAVELENGTH WEAR for a community conversation on “How to Make Affordable Housing a Reality,” featuring special guest Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater.

Come hear what’s happening, ask questions, share your perspective, and better understand what affordable housing could look like for Frederick’s future.

📅 Thursday, September 10, 2026
⏰ 5:00–7:00 PM
📍 122 N. East Street, Downtown Frederick

Whether you’re a homeowner, renter, business owner, employer, young professional, parent, senior, developer or simply someone who cares about Frederick’s future this is a conversation worth being part of.

Small groups. Big ideas. Frederick’s future.

East Frederick Rising encourages our community to stay informed, get involved, and participate in conversations shaping the future of Frederick.

Check out the Department of Economic Development’s most recent Business In Frederick blog for a great read celebrating three East Frederick legacy businesses.

As Frederick celebrates our country’s 250th anniversary, this snapshot of city business history offers a glimpse into the people, craftsmanship and industries that helped shape the Frederick community.

Read: https://www.businessinfrederickblog.com/businessinfrederick/2026/8/17/us-250-frederick-legacy-businesses

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