Durham commissioners advance plan for temporary moratorium on large data centers

Durham County officials heard a staff proposal for a temporary moratorium that would bar new large data centers for nine months while the county researches environmental, utility and land'use impacts and drafts a regulatory ordinance. Deputy County Manager Maurice Jones told the board the pause is meant to "provide staff the time needed to research this complex issue and to engage in community engagement through regulatory processes."

The draft moratorium would align the county with the city of Durham's moratorium and proposes an exemption for smaller enterprise centers, using square footage (staff suggested a threshold between about 80,000 and 100,000 square feet) to distinguish permitted facilities from hyperscale projects. Commissioners pressed staff for more specific data on energy and water use from the roughly 14 data centers the county currently tracks and for legal guidance on any carve'outs. Commissioner Jacobs said the moratorium must be legally defensible and tied to ordinance drafting to withstand statutory review.

Several commissioners emphasized the need to limit the pause to policy drafting, not to disrupt existing permitted work: staff confirmed the draft ties the nine'month term to the ordinance process and could end sooner if an ordinance is adopted. Chair Lee, who said he supports banning hyperscale centers, asked staff to craft language that distinguishes those large AI/hyperscale projects from routine server rooms and smaller enterprise uses so that startups, hospitals and county operations are not unintentionally swept up in the moratorium.

The board indicated support to move the draft to a public hearing and possible vote on Aug. 24, directing planning staff to return with further data on square footage thresholds, RTP impacts and legal limits on measurable standards for regulation.