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Surry County adopts 60‑day moratorium on data center development
Summary
The Surry County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a 60‑day moratorium on new data center approvals June 1, directing staff and the Planning Board to draft ordinance amendments and schedule reviews in June and July. The moratorium definition explicitly includes data centers and cryptocurrency mining.
The Surry County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a temporary 60‑day moratorium on data‑center and related high‑impact facility approvals at its June 1 meeting in Dobson.
Development Services Director Adrienne Gardner and County Attorney Howard Jones presented a draft ordinance and legal options that, the Board said, will give staff and the Planning Board time to research and craft specific performance standards. The ordinance cites North Carolina General Statute § 160D‑107 as authorization for a temporary moratorium.
The ordinance, read into the record by Gardner, defines a “data center” broadly to include buildings or groups of buildings housing large‑scale server systems for data storage, processing, web hosting, program or application hosting, streaming services, artificial intelligence training, quantum computing development and similar uses. It explicitly includes cryptocurrency mining and terms such as “cryptomining” or “cryptomining operation.” Exemptions include data processing clearly incidental and subordinate to a permitted principal use (for example: hospitals, medical facilities, financial institutions, offices, and educational institutions) so long as the activity is not offered to or used by off‑site users.
The draft lists potential adverse impacts the County seeks to study and mitigate: extremely high energy consumption and strain on utilities, substantial water use for cooling, significant noise from cooling systems and backup generators, hazardous‑material and electronic‑waste concerns, and land‑use compatibility with rural, residential, agricultural, and sensitive locations. The ordinance directs Development Services to complete research and drafting through June 8, present preliminary drafts to the Planning Board on June 8, and return to the Board of Commissioners for consideration of public hearings on July 13 (Planning Board) and July 20 (Board) or for a requested extension of the moratorium if more time is needed.
A public hearing drew multiple speakers who urged the Board to impose the pause, including J.C. Sidden, Susan Crawford, Jesus Davis, Cloe Balzano, Joe Clark, Blake Moyer (Surry Economic Development Partnership), Victoria Tolman and Bill Torell. After the hearing, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the 60‑day moratorium. The motion was made by Commissioner Van Tucker and seconded by Commissioner Melissa Hiatt; the recorded yes votes were Bill Goins (Chairman), Melissa Hiatt, Mark Marion, Van Tucker and remote Vice‑Chairman Eddie Harris.
The ordinance’s effective date is June 1, 2026; it remains in force for 60 days unless earlier modified or terminated by the Board. The moratorium does not affect developments that had valid approvals prior to the effective date.
Next steps as described in the ordinance include staff drafting ordinance amendments and the Planning Board reviewing a preliminary draft on June 8; the Board will decide whether to proceed to public hearings in July or extend the moratorium to allow additional study.
