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Butner council sets July public hearing and starts six-month moratorium process on data centers
Summary
After public comments raising environmental and infrastructure concerns, Butner's council approved a resolution to advertise a July 2 public hearing and consider a six-month moratorium on new data-center, data-processing and cryptocurrency-mining development applications to allow staff and the planning board time to craft tailored land-use rules.
Butner 9Town Council on Thursday voted to call a public hearing for July 2 to consider a temporary moratorium on the acceptance, processing and approval of development applications for data centers, data-processing facilities and cryptocurrency mining operations.
The resolution (Res. 26-06-02) directs the town clerk to publish hearing notice in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 160D and says the council may consider adopting a six-month moratorium following that hearing. Supporters on the council said the pause will give staff and the planning board time to research potential local land-use amendments and public impacts.
The item followed public comments urging action. "I urge Butner to stop this suspension and allow the public to weigh in on this very controversial issue," said Marty Daniel, a resident, who raised concerns about noise, lighting, electromagnetic fields and water use, and questioned the lasting local benefits if companies receive tax abatements. Cecil Hudgins, another resident, warned of water consumption, grid strain and light and noise pollution and asked the council to clarify zoning to prevent unwanted land uses.
Town staff and the attorney briefed council members on the legal framework. The town attorney said moratoria under N.C. Gen. Stat. 160D-107 are disfavored and must be narrowly tailored; town staff recommended a six-month period as reasonable to prepare code amendments tied specifically to land-use regulation, while recognizing state and federal agencies retain authority over emissions and discharge permits.
Town Manager Jordan told council the moratorium would apply to properties "where the primary use of the entire site is for data processing, crypto mining or a data center," and would not target ancillary servers or typical office computing. Planning staff said any ordinance amendments would proceed through the planning board as an open public process.
Councilmember Benoit said the council is "not anti-growth or anti-business" but must protect public health and infrastructure until the town can set clear rules. After discussion, council approved the resolution to advertise the hearing; the motion carried unanimously.
Next steps: the clerk will publish required notices; the council will hold a legislative public hearing July 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Butner Town Hall, 415 Central Ave., and may then consider adopting a six-month moratorium or a different local land-use response.
