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Madison County schedules special meeting to consider moratorium on data centers and battery storage projects
Summary
Supervisors cited water use, transmission-line impacts and eminent-domain concerns and set a special meeting to establish a public hearing on a proposed moratorium ordinance; the board wants notice published next week because developers are moving quickly.
Several Madison County supervisors said they are alarmed by proposals for large data centers and battery storage projects and have asked staff to bring forward an ordinance moratorium for public hearing.
Supervisors raised environmental and infrastructure concerns, with one member warning that data centers can place heavy demands on local water supplies and that transmission lines tied to battery storage projects carry eminent-domain risks for property owners. "We need a moratorium and we need to move fast because they are offering lots of money to move in," a supervisor said, urging the board to set a public hearing promptly.
The board set a special meeting for Friday at 9:00 a.m. to adopt a public-hearing date so the notice can be published next week; members instructed staff to prepare draft moratorium language and background materials for the hearing. The suggested moratorium would pause new permitting or approvals for data centers and large battery storage facilities while the county studies impacts and evaluates ordinance language.
Supporters of a moratorium said rapid provider approaches and attractive short-term financial offers to landowners can outpace community review and that transmission corridors associated with large projects bring broad property-rights questions. Members asked legal staff to review recent case law and prepare recommended ordinance language that addresses vested-rights claims and the county's authority to impose temporary land-use pauses.
The special meeting will be narrowly focused on setting the public hearing; the board expects to hold the hearing after legal review and public notice. No moratorium ordinance was adopted at Tuesday's meeting; the item will return for formal action after the hearing.
