Southport Planning Board backs 15-month data center moratorium

The Southport Planning Board has unanimously recommended that the city's Board of Alderman adopt a 15-month moratorium on new data centers and related industries. This decision, following a lengthy discussion, is intended to allow the planning board sufficient time to develop and approve a text amendment to the town's unified development ordinance. The proposed amendment would establish specific development standards and regulations for any future data center projects within the city limits.

Planning board members emphasized that this proactive measure is crucial for protecting Southport residents and businesses, not a response to any current development proposals. Board chair Lawrence Ashley stated that effective zoning is necessary to safeguard the community, noting that without proper ordinances, the city would lack the legal means to regulate such developments. The proposed regulations would address potential concerns like water consumption, requiring data centers to use closed-loop water systems that do not draw from municipal supplies or aquifers, and would also consider impacts on electrical infrastructure and consumer utility bills.

Southport is not the only municipality in Brunswick County taking such steps; the town of Shallotte adopted zoning definitions for data centers in February, and Boiling Spring Lakes enacted a one-year moratorium on new zoning regulations related to data centers. The Southport Planning Board's recommendation now awaits consideration by the Southport Board of Alderman.