Southport Planning Board seeks 15-month data center pause while zoning rules are built
Southport's Planning Board unanimously voted to recommend a 15-month moratorium on data centers to the Board of Aldermen. This pause would allow the city to develop comprehensive zoning regulations for data center projects, addressing concerns such as water usage and noise levels. Currently, no data center projects are proposed within the city limits.
The Southport Planning Board in North Carolina has unanimously voted to recommend a 15-month moratorium on data center development to the city's Board of Aldermen. The board's decision, made during its July 16 meeting, aims to provide sufficient time to establish a comprehensive zoning framework for potential data center projects within the city limits.
Planning Board Chair Lawrence Ashley emphasized the need for proactive zoning to prepare for developments that may not currently be anticipated. The board deferred action on a proposed zoning text amendment that would have set initial rules for data centers, choosing instead to pursue the moratorium to allow for more thorough guideline development.
The proposed regulations would address critical issues such as water usage, requiring closed-loop systems to avoid impacting Brunswick County's water supply, and noise, by setting specific decibel limits. Ashley noted that many communities are currently grappling with similar challenges in regulating data centers, which he described as a sign of evolving technology.
If enacted by the Board of Aldermen, the moratorium would temporarily halt the city's ability to accept or approve data center applications, but it would not constitute a permanent ban. The current proposal would have limited data centers to Highway Commercial zoning districts via conditional rezoning, with stringent environmental and operational requirements.