Gates County adopts one-year moratorium on data‑center approvals after residents raise environmental and economic concerns

The Gates County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on June 25 to adopt an ordinance imposing a one‑year moratorium on development approvals for data centers and related high‑capacity facilities, saying the pause will give county staff and legal counsel time to draft zoning and regulatory language intended to protect local residents and natural resources.

Residents and business owners filled the public hearing to urge caution. "A data center would... kick a lot of us out because we can't hardly afford to live right now," said public commenter Liana Winden, who expressed concerns about higher utility bills, water consumption for cooling and noise. Diane Ring, whose family has lived in Gates County for generations, told the board she supports a moratorium because "there's no information out there available to us as county constituents" and warned of potential ecological impacts to rivers and creeks.

Commissioners and staff framed the moratorium as a tool to buy time to research impacts and craft narrowly written language. "The moratorium is to make sure that Gates County is protected and that it's protected in the right way," Chair Emily Truman said, promising public updates and transparency as the county works with legal counsel. County Attorney Pitt Godwin told commissioners he was not aware of any pending land purchases and said the moratorium would "certainly put a halt on anything like a data base and come in here," meaning it would stop data‑center activity while the ordinance is developed.

Commissioner Brian Rountree listed a series of concerns he said justify the pause, including "excessive energy consumption," "massive water usage" (he referenced "over 1,000,000 liters" in his remarks), limited long‑term job creation, noise and air pollution and electronic waste. Commissioner Dave Foresight said the moratorium is a necessary first step to prevent large companies from using legal resources to rush development, calling it "a good first step on behalf of the citizens" and noting the board can extend the moratorium if more time is required.

The board opened the hearing, heard multiple three‑minute public comments and then returned to open session to discuss wording and next steps before voting. The ordinance was adopted by show of hands with a unanimous vote of the five commissioners present.

The moratorium directs county administration, planning staff and legal counsel to research environmental, infrastructure and economic impacts, draft regulatory language and return to the board with recommendations and public updates. Commissioners said they will post materials online as they become available and will consider extensions or further action if warranted.

Next steps include drafting the ordinance language, review by county attorneys and planning staff and scheduled public updates; the board signaled it will consider extensions if departments need more time.