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Town of Bath moratorium slows local data center recruitment; county reports only exploratory interest
Summary
Staff told the committee that the Town of Bath has enacted a temporary moratorium on new data center development; county staff have received only exploratory site‑selector calls and no active data center prospect has been reported to date.
During the July 23 meeting, Susan Squires informed the advisory committee that the Town of Bath has enacted a temporary moratorium on new data center development while it considers land‑use regulations. Squires also said the county’s economic development office has received only exploratory or "fishing expedition" calls from site selectors and no specific data center project inquiries have developed into active prospects.
Commissioner Stan Deathridge urged members to consider the potential benefits a data center could bring to the county tax base but also flagged environmental factors that would require further discussion. "[He] mentioned the benefits to having a data center for our area and towards the tax base," the transcript records. Committee members did not take any formal action on data center recruitment during the public session.
Because the Town of Bath has a local moratorium in effect, any county engagement on a Bath site would be contingent on that town lifting or modifying the moratorium and any subsequent local land‑use approvals. Staff characterized current county prospects as preliminary and advised the committee to await formal proposals before pursuing incentives or rezoning.
