Countywide Data Center Moratorium

At a glance

• What: Dan Besse drafted a six-month countywide moratorium on new large-scale data center approvals (under state statute 160D-107, modeled on Alamance County's, with vested-rights exemptions and a work program) and presented it at the Monday, Sept 28, 2026 briefing. County Attorney Gordon Watkins recommended against it, citing the Chatham County data center ruling (Ecotip West LLC v. Chatham County, as captioned) and the state downzoning law.
• Outcome: no formal vote. Besse said he did not have the votes and asked supporters to raise a hand: only he and Tonya D. McDaniel did, so it died on an informal 2-5 show of hands at the briefing. The "5-2 rejection on Oct 1" reported earlier is this Sept 28 show of hands; the Oct 1 meeting had no moratorium vote, only public comment. No hearing was called (the earliest possible hearing would have been Oct 15).
• Background: staff told the board that the unified development ordinance treats data centers as a "Services A" use allowed in 14 nonresidential districts, with practical limits on siting (10-acre sites, substations, water and sewer). Over 50 North Carolina localities have adopted moratoria; the attorney counted about 14 counties.
• Possible next step: staff may prepare conditions to apply if a rezoning is proposed, and text amendments to the ordinance (none reported). Two bills (one giving counties authority over data centers, one ending downzoning) each passed one chamber; the legislature may not return until late November or December. The denied Rural Hall request (Project Iron Spur Data Center Rezoning (F-1669)) is rumored to return, and another data center proposal on land zoned for it was reported.
• Videos: 2026-09-28 - Board of County Commissioners Briefing, 2026-10-01 - Board of County Commissioners.

Briefing debate, Sept 28, 2026

• Besse said a pause would avoid inviting proposals the county could not review, and would let the board hear experts and officials from places like Loudoun County, Virginia, in public. Watkins said he had not been asked to draft one, did not think any version protects the county, and urged a litigation contingency if the board proceeds.
• Staff and Besse disagreed about whether his draft answered staff's legal concerns. Several commissioners thanked the attorney; some preferred to judge specific proposals (as with Rural Hall), worried about the cost of a lawsuit, or suggested county and city information sessions instead. One objected that the show of hands was not collegial. Most speakers are not identified in the captions.

Public comment, Oct 1, 2026

• Debra Demske thanked the board for denying the Rural Hall rezoning and said her petition for a data center text amendment, delivered to the planning department on Monday, was refused on the county attorney's advice. She asked the board to accept the petition for the ordinance process, get a second opinion from outside land use counsel, and let residents work with staff.
• Marsie West said the moratorium (with vested-rights exemptions) was dismissed without enough discussion and that zoning relies on outdated SIC industry codes rather than NAICS.
• No board action at the meeting.

Public comment, Oct 15, 2026

• Requests: use-specific standards (including decommissioning), noise and environmental impact ordinances, a formal interpretation for campus-scale facilities, or a separate hyperscale use category above a high threshold so no existing building becomes nonconforming.
• Speakers cited the Sept 16 UNC School of Government analysis on which standards may not be downzoning, and news reports that two hyperscale proposals may resurface after the midterm elections.
• No commissioner acted; the Sept 28 outcome stands.

Discussion time

About 73 minutes across 3 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Log

• 2026-10-15 - Board of County Commissioners - Three public speakers (Rob Yoder, Robin Smith, Marsie West) urged the board to adopt data center standards or reconsider the moratorium; no board response.
• 2026-10-01 - Board of County Commissioners - Public comment (speakers described the Sept 28 rejection): Debra Demske and Marsie West asked the board to revisit the moratorium and accept a resident petition for a data center text amendment; no board response.
• 2026-09-28 - Board of County Commissioners Briefing - Besse presented his six-month moratorium draft; the attorney and manager advised against it; Besse conceded he lacked the votes and only he and Tonya D. McDaniel raised a hand. Informal show of hands, no recorded vote, no hearing called.
• 2026-10-21 - Page created from public town materials and news coverage (retrieved 2026-10-21); no meeting transcript processed yet.
• 2026-09-17 - Board of County Commissioners - Marsie West urged action on the moratorium in public comment; no board action.
• 2026-09-14 - Bimonthly Morning Discussion Session - A commissioner asked for more public education on data centers, tax implications and moratoriums; the topic was deferred to the 2 p.m. briefing (from auto-captions).
• 2026-09-14 - Board of County Commissioners Briefing - Staff presented data center types, zoning, water and sewer capacity; the attorney explained state limits on moratoriums and downzoning; Dan Besse asked for a Sept 28 item on a six-month hyperscale moratorium and a straw vote counted four in favor of agendizing it (from auto-captions).
• 2026-08-27 - Board of County Commissioners - In public comment Debra Demske thanked the board for denying the Rural Hall rezoning and asked for data center standards; Marsie West urged a moratorium to allow time to define hyperscale data centers (from auto-captions).
• 2026-08-24 - Board of County Commissioners Briefing - Dan Besse asked to add a hyperscale moratorium discussion to the Sept. 14 briefing; Malishai Woodbury wanted general education first, and Tonya D. McDaniel backed both; another commissioner opposed a moratorium. Staff reported no formal data center request. The board agreed to a background discussion on Sept. 14 (from auto-captions).
• 2026-08-13 - Board of County Commissioners - Marsie West urged the board in public comment to examine hyperscale data centers and UDO conflicts and consider a moratorium (from auto-captions).
• 2026-07-30 - Board of County Commissioners - During the Iron Spur hearing a resident asked for a time-limited moratorium so the UDO can be updated for hyperscale data centers; commissioners suggested redefining 'data center' in the ordinance.
• 2026-07-27 - Board of County Commissioners Briefing - The county attorney said state down-zoning limits and the county's broad definition of computer data centers make a moratorium hard to defend, and a new state budget provision awards attorney fees to successful challengers. Staff read Duke Energy's emailed answers on large-load planning and rates; Dan Besse called them incomplete.