Newport approves one-year moratorium on data center development
Newport Town Council in Carteret County, NC, has approved a one-year moratorium on data center development. This temporary halt allows town officials to rewrite their Unified Development Ordinance to establish specific standards and regulations for data centers. The town emphasized that the moratorium is temporary and not a permanent prohibition.
The Newport Town Council in Carteret County, North Carolina, recently approved a one-year temporary moratorium on data center development. This decision, which covers data processing facilities, cryptocurrency mining operations, and associated uses within the town and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, aims to provide officials with sufficient time to comprehensively rewrite the town's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).
Town Manager Michele Querry explained that the current UDO lacks specific provisions or standards for data center development. The moratorium will enable Newport to carefully consider how such developments should be handled in the updated ordinance, including determining appropriate locations, establishing development standards, and addressing potential impacts.
The town council emphasized that the moratorium is a temporary measure and does not indicate a permanent prohibition on data centers in Newport. It is intended as a thoughtful approach to integrate future data center regulations into the town's planning framework.