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Camden County adopts six-month moratorium on new data-center permitting in unincorporated areas
Summary
After extensive public comment about water, noise and local impacts, the Camden County Board of Commissioners voted to impose a six-month moratorium on permitting for new data centers in unincorporated Camden County, excluding specific draft provisions so staff can refine ordinance language and seek public input.
The Camden County Board of Commissioners voted on May 5, 2026, to impose a six-month moratorium on permitting for new data centers in unincorporated Camden County. The measure, approved by voice vote after extended public comment and commissioner debate, pauses permitting and formal approvals while the county drafts and refines local ordinance language.
The moratorium applies only to the unincorporated areas of the county; municipal jurisdictions are not affected, the board said. Commissioners also excluded sections 4–7 of the drafted moratorium language from tonight’s action and directed county attorneys and planning staff to pare down the draft to a narrower moratorium-focused text and to continue public outreach and ordinance work during the pause.
Residents and environmental advocates had urged the board to act. “There’s a large amount of people that if you guys decide to move forward…we need to do some town halls so that you can explain your thought process,” public commenter Tracy Wilson told the board. St. Marys Riverkeeper Emily Floor said the region lacks state-level protections and urged a moratorium to allow the county to write “an airtight ordinance with explicit language to mitigate impacts on quality of life like air, water and noise control.”
Speakers cited a range of concerns including water use and closed-loop cooling chemistry, potential effects on wetlands and marsh connectivity, noise from backup generators, stormwater and drainage impacts, and whether promised economic benefits would materialize. “We need to be thoughtful about how we grow,” Emily Floor said, adding that local governments remain the primary authority to require mitigation while state legislation did not pass this session.
Board members differed on the initial moratorium length: an early proposal set a 90‑day pause; after discussion the board approved a six‑month moratorium. Commissioners emphasized the moratorium is intended to buy time for public hearings, ordinance drafting, and examination of options, including the possibility of prohibiting certain uses in unincorporated areas pending legal review.
What happens next: county staff will continue to revise the draft ordinance and hold public work sessions; the moratorium blocks permitting and approvals in the unincorporated county until it is lifted or replaced by a formal ordinance.
The board’s action followed a prolonged public-comment period in which dozens of residents and local advocates spoke against the proposed rezoning and urged stronger local standards before permitting could proceed.
