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Data Center Moratorium and Zoning Text Amendment

At a glance

  • What: residents asked for a data center moratorium; the county is also writing a text amendment regulating data centers as a special use.
  • Where it stands: after reviewing the draft on October 6, the Planning Board voted unanimously on October 20 to recommend the text amendment (with the staff edits) to the Commissioners.
  • Next: Commissioners' hearing on the text amendment and the moratorium on October 26.

Background

  • Staff said current zoning treats data centers as warehouses (written 2024 opinions say by-right in LI/HI).
  • The Hurricane Helene legislation added a no-downzoning clause.
  • Duke requires a $100K study for loads over 100 MW.

Draft text amendment

  • Class A special use permit in LI/HI, tiered by power use.
  • 55 dB limit at the property line, sound studies, decommissioning and engineer certification of cooling.

Positions and cautions

  • Yates opposes a moratorium and incentives.
  • The attorney warned adopting both is in conflict.
  • The Assistant County Attorney cautioned that an outright ban on data centers or on evaporative cooling would be hard to defend.

Planning Board track

  • The Commissioners' application (9/3) went to the Planning Board, which reviewed the draft section by section on October 6, heard public comment and continued it 5-0 to October 20 as a working session.
  • Under state law the Board has 30 days from referral to recommend, so October 20 is its last chance before the October 26 hearing.
  • October 20: the Board adopted the staff edits (classification by power at full buildout, 40-foot berm, 1,000-foot child care setback, evaporative cooling ban, new special use permit on expansion, data center definition including crypto mining) and recommended passage unanimously; Lee Crook said Hyperscale and Hyperscale AI could be merged later.
  • Draft features as of the October 20 packet:
    • Five classes by power use (Edge under 5 MW, Enterprise 5 to 20, Co-Lo 20 to 100, Hyperscale and Hyperscale AI over 100).
    • Edge and Enterprise allowed in commercial, industrial and mixed-use districts, Co-Lo by special use in LI, HI, MX-C and PEC, hyperscale only in HI and PEC.
    • 55 dBA at the lot line.
    • Setbacks of 200 feet from any lot line, 500 from residential or agricultural land and 1,000 from schools, worship, assisted living and child care.
    • A 100-foot buffer (50 with a berm).
    • Decommissioning security of 1.25 times cost less half salvage, or $75,000.
    • Open-loop and evaporative cooling and private wells prohibited.
    • A proposed $500-a-day penalty for heavy impact land uses.

Status and next steps

  • Planning Board recommended the text amendment unanimously on October 20; no public comment was taken that night.
  • Moratorium hearing set for October 26 along with the text amendment hearing.

Sources

Discussion time

About 204 minutes across 6 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting Minutes
2026-10-20 - Planning Board 12
2026-10-01 - Board of Commissioners Info Meeting 46
2026-09-28 - Board of Commissioners 42
2026-09-03 - Board of Commissioners Info Meeting 37
2026-08-24 - Board of Commissioners 63
2026-08-06 - Board of Commissioners Info Meeting 4

Log

  • 2026-10-26 - Board of Commissioners Meeting - Public hearings. Crook presented the draft and the Lenoir sound readings; the board directed changes (districts, 55 dBA, setbacks, buffers, closed-loop cooling, decommissioning, Tier 4 generators) and approved the text amendment 5-2 with the changes to be finalized and reviewed by the county attorney. Tripp Kester first did not vote, then voted no. The temporary moratorium was then disposed of (vote count unclear in the captions).
  • 2026-10-20 - Planning Board - Crook walked through the staff edits (power at buildout, 40-foot berm, child care setback, evaporative cooling ban, expansion permit, definition); no public comment; Board recommended the text amendment unanimously.
  • 2026-10-06 - Planning Board - Planning Board section-by-section review of the draft (55 dBA, 200/500/1,000-foot setbacks, decommissioning bond, water); public comment from neighbors, Tavis Curry and Commissioner Mizell; continued 5-0 to October 20.
  • 2026-10-01 - Board of Commissioners Info Meeting - Workshop of Crook's draft special use ordinance; Yates urged bundling the moratorium vote with the text amendment.
  • 2026-09-28 - Board of Commissioners - Agenda amended 4-2 to add the moratorium (yes: Mizell, Shook, Elliott, Kester; no: Shell, Watford). Mizell proposed four months; a voice vote reported 4-2 set a moratorium hearing for October 26 (opposition not clear in captions). A commissioner told an audience member to shut up and later apologized (attribution unclear).
  • 2026-09-15 - Planning Board - Posted file is a data center background packet (Commissioner topic list, Curry's benchmark and facts sheets, SB 730, other counties' ordinances); no minutes.
  • 2026-09-14 - Board of Commissioners - Consent agenda approved the text amendment application; speakers sought 12-month moratorium.
  • 2026-09-03 - Board of Commissioners Info Meeting - Workshop with Crook: text amendment, planning board workshop, hearing October 26; special use permit approach.
  • 2026-08-24 - Board of Commissioners - Six-month moratorium failed 3-3 on roll call (yes: Kester, Mizell, Elliott; no: Shell, Yates, Watford); McClure absent.
  • 2026-08-06 - Board of Commissioners Info Meeting - Clerk reported no responses to site-visit requests from Apple, Google (Maiden) or the Lenoir site; will contact EDPNC.
  • 2026-08-04 - Planning Board - Planning Board discussed hyperscale data centers; Crook described Duke's $100,000 study fee and 90 percent deposit; Board expected a county moratorium.

2026-10-06 - Planning Board (video detail)

The planning director walked through the draft section by section: edge (under 5 MW), enterprise (5 to 20 MW), colocation (20 to 100 MW) and hyperscale (over 100 MW) classes, with larger classes proposed as special uses in limited districts. He showed sound readings of about 53 to 54 dB at 526 feet at a hyperscale campus he visited, taken with a calibrated meter. Discussion covered a 55 dB limit at the property line, 100-foot vegetative buffers reducible with a berm, 200/500/1,000-foot setbacks, lighting and vibration limits, decommissioning financial assurance and a civil penalty ceiling. On cooling, the draft prohibited open-loop and air-cooled systems; the assistant county attorney doubted the county could enforce it and a resident suggested changing the wording to evaporative cooling. Neighbors of a nearby gas compressor station described noise and asked for larger setbacks and planted berms; another speaker raised on-site power generation, backup generator emissions and decommissioning. A Board member spoke about the tax base and services, the chairman said the Board is a recommending body that cannot simply prohibit a lawful use, and a county commissioner, speaking as a private citizen, said he initiated the moratorium and favored stricter initial rules. The Board voted 5-0 to continue the item to October 20 at 6 p.m.