Durham County to vote on 12-month pause for data center development
Durham County commissioners are preparing to vote on extending a 60-day data center moratorium to 12 months. The proposed extension requires a public hearing and an amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance to facilitate a longer pause. This follows a similar 12-month moratorium already enacted by the city of Durham.
Durham County commissioners are scheduled to vote on a proposal to extend an existing 60-day moratorium on data center development to 12 months. The county previously implemented a short-term pause in May, and now seeks to prolong it to allow time for the development of appropriate land use regulations concerning data centers.
The proposed extension necessitates a public hearing and an amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The amendment aims to remove the requirement for a planning commission review and a local restriction on moratorium length, although state-imposed duration limits would still apply. The city of Durham has already extended its initial 60-day data center moratorium to 12 months.
Concerns driving these moratoriums, which are also in effect in neighboring towns and counties like Holly Springs, Wake County, Chatham County, Orange County, and Fayetteville, include the substantial water and electricity consumption of data centers, as well as potential noise pollution impacting property values. The Durham County meeting to consider these measures is set to begin at 7 p.m.