The Jones County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on Oct. 21 to impose a 90-day moratorium on data center projects in the county, a measure Commissioner Kitchens said would give the board time to study impacts and strengthen local rules.

"If we could put a 90 day moratorium on any data centers," Commissioner Kitchens said when he moved the restriction, "this would allow the Jones County Board of Commissioners to further study the effects that a data center has on any of our resources on our health, on our welfare, on businesses, on residents within this county." The motion was seconded and then approved by the board with four votes in favor and one opposed.

The moratorium followed public comment, staff remarks and discussion among commissioners about whether recent state actions and public outreach left the county adequately protected. Commissioners cited an apparent temporary pause at the state level on development review for data centers and concerns about whether the county's September text amendments fully hold up under legal review. Commissioner Kitchens said the pause by the state Department of Community Affairs on reviews for data centers was a reason to pause locally.

Residents who spoke at the meeting said they supported stronger local standards and transparency. Ryan Wilson, a resident near the properties discussed, urged the board to require plans for decommissioning and ownership changes and to provide transparent information about staged development or "shell" construction. Mark Houston, an IT professional from the county, said the site under discussion was not listed for industrial use in the county's five-year land use plan and suggested locating large industrial projects in the county's industrial park.

After the moratorium motion passed, the board approved a separate, unanimous motion to begin a formal text-amendment process to revisit the county code's section addressing data centers (referred to during discussion as section 97). That motion directs staff to prepare language for the board's review at future meetings.

Commissioners and staff emphasized the county would use the time to gather more information, to educate the public and to consider changes to noise, lighting, decommissioning, water and other standards discussed during public comment and by commissioners.

No specific new restrictions were adopted during the meeting aside from the moratorium and the instruction to start a text-amendment process. The board did not adopt any tax-abatement policy at this meeting; several commissioners said they were not inclined to offer tax abatements for data centers based on currently available information.

The board also directed staff to return with draft ordinance language and to coordinate with planning staff before any final decisions. The moratorium will run for 90 days from the board's Oct. 21 vote unless the board amends or rescinds it in a later meeting.