Commissioners advance six‑month moratorium to allow drafting of data‑center ordinance and public engagement

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted on June 11 to move a proposed temporary moratorium on certain data‑center development activities to the June 15 regular meeting for final approval and set a six‑month moratorium period to allow staff and the joint planning commission time to draft an ordinance and hold public outreach.

County Attorney Rick Morfield framed the moratorium as procedural: it pauses specified permitting and approvals while staff develops draft ordinance language and conducts town halls and joint planning review. Commissioners debated the duration and process. One commissioner asked if the ordinance could be completed more quickly; staff outlined a proposed six‑month schedule with initial joint planning discussion in July, public town halls and stakeholder input in months two and three, draft ordinance revisions and a joint planning hearing in months four and five, and final board action in month six. The board settled on a six‑month window, setting the moratorium end date at Dec. 15, 2026.

Vice Chair Jones moved the action on the floor and the motion was seconded. Commissioners voted and the board approved moving the moratorium ordinance language forward with the six‑month timeframe. The moratorium will be considered for final approval at the June 15 meeting under items of business.

Context: county staff noted pending state legislation (Senate Bill 730) that would create statewide data‑center siting requirements; the proposed local ordinance will be drafted accounting for potential state requirements. The moratorium will allow county staff to develop local rules and public engagement without approvals occurring under an unupdated local framework.

Next steps: joint planning commission to receive draft language and hold initial discussion in July, followed by town halls and a staff‑recommended ordinance to the board within the six‑month window. If the ordinance is not ready when the moratorium expires, the board may consider extension or other action; statute and notice requirements for moratoria were discussed by the attorney.