Nottingham Planning Board schedules July 1 hearing on proposed temporary moratorium on data centers

The Nottingham Planning Board voted on June 10 to hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. on July 1 on a proposed temporary moratorium ordinance that would pause consideration of new data‑center projects while the town evaluates municipal impacts and updates regulatory language.

Blair (town staff) said town council suggested edits to the draft ordinance, including a broader definition of “data center” drawn from recent legislative language and a clarification to remove duplicative phrasing in the duration section. The edits also removed a clause that would have attempted to extend the moratorium beyond the RSA‑permitted mechanism; town counsel recommended a single‑warranted moratorium that would take effect if approved at a special town meeting.

Staff advised that once the public hearing is legally noticed and posted, projects that would fall under the moratorium’s scope will be effectively frozen from acceptance under the proposed rules until the town votes on the ordinance. The board set the hearing for July 1 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building multipurpose room and asked staff to post the full text on the planning‑board webpage and town site when legal notice goes live (targeted Friday or Monday following the meeting).

Drew Stevens, chair, and other members said the town is trying to move quickly to give residents a formal opportunity to comment and to place the proposed moratorium on a special town meeting warrant. "Once it's legally noticed, the zoning essentially freezes and would have this apply," a staff member said, describing the protective effect for the community once notice is posted.

Next steps: the board will take public comment at the July 1 hearing and, if the board votes to place the ordinance on the special town meeting warrant, the selectboard would hold or authorize the special town meeting where the moratorium would be adopted by a vote of those attending the meeting.