Planning board votes to send 12‑month data‑center moratorium to warrant after public hearing

The Nottingham Planning Board voted unanimously to send a proposed 12‑month temporary moratorium on data centers to the town as a warrant article following a public hearing in which residents raised concerns about water, energy and local impacts.

The board read the ordinance and the planning‑board appendix of findings at the start of the special meeting, citing RSA 674:23 as authority for a temporary moratorium that would prohibit accepting, processing or issuing site‑plan approvals, subdivision approvals, building permits, conditional use permits or variances for data centers townwide for up to 12 months. The appendix lists potential impacts the board said require study, including water consumption, energy demand, noise and backup generators, waste heat, traffic and fiscal effects.

Resident Kristen Lamb told the board she supported the moratorium and offered several figures she said show risks for rural communities. "Eighty‑seven percent of current operating data centers are in urban areas and only 13% are in rural," Lamb said, adding that planned proposals flip that balance. She warned that a "15 to 20 megawatt facility can increase ambient land temperature 4 to 16° within a 6‑mile radius" and said household electricity burdens cited in research could outweigh modest property tax gains. "I'm in support and I'm really grateful that our town is acting on it," she said.

Jim Hadley quoted guidance from the Sierra Club urging municipalities to prohibit data centers outright as the most legally defensible route to prevent their development, and recommended the New Hampshire Municipal Association as a legal resource as Nottingham develops permanent rules.

Resident Faith Levc cautioned about misinformation circulating online and said a small planning‑board subcommittee is working on the issue and will welcome public input.

Board members clarified procedural and legal points during the hearing. A resident asked when the moratorium takes effect; the board explained that the planning board will vote to send the moratorium as a warrant article to the legislative body (the town), the select board will call a special town meeting, and the moratorium would take effect only on the date the legislative body adopts it. The chair said applications filed before that adoption date would not be subject to the moratorium.

The motion to adopt the proposed moratorium as written was moved and seconded; the board conducted a roll‑call vote and recorded unanimous approval. The chair said the measure will be placed on the warrant for a special town meeting, which the select board will schedule and publicize. The ordinance text requires the planning board and zoning board of adjustment to review data‑center land uses, evaluate zoning districts and performance standards, study human‑health, environmental, infrastructure and fiscal impacts, and recommend zoning amendments during the moratorium period.

The planning board adjourned the special meeting shortly after the vote.

What happens next: the moratorium will be part of a warrant article at a special town meeting called by the select board; adoption by the legislative body is the effective date of the moratorium. If the moratorium is adopted, the planning board is required by the ordinance to conduct the study and hold further public hearings before recommending permanent zoning changes.