Hillsborough, Durham County Consider Extending AI Data Center Moratoriums
Durham County and the Hillsborough town board are considering extending their current 60-day moratoriums on new AI data centers to a year or longer. Durham County Commissioners are also reviewing a proposal to ease existing county restrictions on imposing extended development moratoriums. These critical discussions are scheduled to occur at local government meetings this week.
Local government boards in Hillsborough and Durham County, North Carolina, are poised to discuss the potential extension of existing moratoriums on new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. Both entities had previously enacted 60-day pauses on development, and this week's meetings will explore prolonging these moratoriums to a year or more.
The Hillsborough Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing and may vote on Monday, June 22, regarding a proposal to extend its town's moratorium. Concurrently, Durham County Commissioners will address a logistical challenge posed by county ordinances that currently limit their ability to impose extended development moratoriums. They are scheduled to hold a public hearing on a proposal to eliminate policies that ban moratoriums longer than one year and require Planning Commission approval for moratoriums over 60 days, thereby paving the way for a longer county-wide pause on AI data center development. These discussions are part of a series of local government meetings covering Durham, Orange, and Chatham Counties.