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Woodfin council asks staff to draft temporary moratorium on data centers as LDO is updated
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Summary
Council directed staff to prepare an ordinance for a temporary (up to one‑year) moratorium on new data centers while the Land Development Ordinance is revised. Staff cited limited heavy‑industrial land (37 parcels; largest undeveloped ~2.6 acres) and existing special‑use standards for data centers.
Woodfin Town Council voted April 21 to ask town staff to draft an ordinance for a temporary moratorium on data centers and similar large computing uses while the town completes its Land Development Ordinance (LDO) update.
Council discussion centered on whether the town’s current rules — which restrict data centers to heavy‑industrial zoning with special‑use permit standards — are sufficient. Town Manager Shannon Tuck told the council staff had queried the town’s GIS and found 37 parcels zoned heavy industrial; the largest undeveloped parcel in that category was about 2.6 acres. "I think the average data center site's like a 108 [acres]," Shannon said when discussing typical data center parcel sizes, underscoring the mismatch between local available sites and the scale of many data‑center projects.
Town attorney (on the record) said the town already regulates data centers in the land‑use table and that an outright ban on otherwise legal uses would be legally fraught; however, a temporary moratorium to allow staff to study and propose targeted standards is within the town's authority and commonly used. Existing local special standards cited in the discussion include a 100‑foot setback, limits on nighttime operations, noise restrictions and requirements for renewable energy offsets.
Council member Young moved to direct staff to prepare the ordinance; the motion was seconded and approved by vocal assent. The attorney noted down‑zoning and state rules (discussed generically during the presentation) can limit local discretion and that any ordinance will need to be carefully drafted to comply with state law.
Staff will return with a proposed ordinance and associated notice for a future meeting; the draft moratorium would likely be written for a one‑year period to allow the town to complete portions of the LDO process and consider specific regulatory responses.
The action instructs staff to prepare legal notice and a draft ordinance for council consideration at a subsequent meeting.
