Kings Mountain enacts 182-day moratorium on new data centers

Kings Mountain’s City Council voted 5-2 on Feb. 24, 2026, to adopt Ordinance 26-11, a 182-day moratorium on issuing permits for new data centers that begins the day of the vote and will culminate with a public hearing on Aug. 25, 2026. The ordinance pauses permitting to give staff time to draft and the Planning & Zoning Board time to review proposed standards.

Planning Director Henry Earle told council that the city’s Unified Development Ordinance, adopted in 2021, currently does not include standards specifically for data centers and said the moratorium is intended to allow staff to evaluate setbacks, screening, lighting and utility impacts. “The City of Kings Mountain UDO, written in 2021, does not address data centers,” Earle said as he outlined a six‑month timeline that will end with proposed text returned to council on Aug. 25, 2026.

Earle read the four statements required by North Carolina General Statute 160D-107(d), explaining the problem (lack of standards), the UDO sections subject to the moratorium (Section 156.30.02 Land Use Matrix and Section 156.30.04 Limited Use Standards), the termination date (182 days), and the schedule for staff work and Planning & Zoning Board review during the pause.

The moratorium does not apply to developments that already have a valid permit, a site‑specific vesting plan, or a development agreement; new applications may be submitted but will not be evaluated until the moratorium ends. Earle said staff plans five Planning & Zoning Board meetings as part of the review process.

During the public hearing, registered speakers included Tommy Register, John Lemmond, Paul Spurrier (who declined to speak) and Will Quick; the transcript does not record the substance of their remarks.

Council debate focused on timing. Councilmember Scott Neisler suggested delaying implementation for 30 days, a position supported by Councilmember Tyler Fletcher, who said he worried the pause might push a prospective project away. Councilmember Annie Thombs moved to adopt the ordinance; she said council did not yet have enough information to make a fully informed decision and expressed concern for citizens’ health and safety. Councilmember Shearra Miller argued the moratorium would be “one of the most responsible decisions” the council could make to allow for more information and public input.

The motion to adopt Ordinance 26-11 passed 5-2. Councilmembers Scott Neisler and Tyler Fletcher cast the dissenting votes; the five supporting votes were Annie Thombs, Heather Lemmond, Jay Rhodes, Jimmy West and Shearra Miller.

Next steps specified in the record: staff will research and draft proposed ordinance text, the Planning & Zoning Board will review and refine the language over multiple meetings, and council will consider the proposed standards at a public hearing on Aug. 25, 2026.