Forsyth rejects data-center moratorium; Besse’s draft details proposed safeguards
Forsyth County commissioners declined to advance Commissioner Dan Besse’s proposed 180-day moratorium on new large-scale data centers to a public hearing after the measure failed to gain majority support. The draft would have paused development approvals while the county studied safeguards related to electricity, water, wastewater, noise, emissions and community compatibility.
Forsyth County commissioners rejected advancing a proposed six-month moratorium on large data-center development to a public hearing. Commissioner Dan Besse said only he and Commissioner Tonya McDaniel supported the proposal, while a reported 5-2 vote went against it. County Attorney Gordon Watkins warned of potential litigation risks, citing a successful challenge to a Chatham County moratorium involving a project already underway.
Besse’s draft would have paused approvals and applications for facilities expected to require at least 50 megawatts, including rezoning, special-use, building, grading and zoning permits. The review plan called for examining electricity and water demand, wastewater, noise, air emissions, backup generators and public-health concerns, as well as possible changes to noise rules and industrial wastewater requirements. The moratorium was not adopted, leaving existing county rules in place, while a prior Rural Hall-area data-center rezoning application had separately been rejected in July.