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County staff presents preliminary data-center ordinance draft; commissioners request technical briefings
Summary
Planning staff presented a preliminary Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) text amendment defining data-center types, setbacks, noise and energy sections; commissioners asked for NC State briefings and more localized studies before any action.
County planning staff presented a preliminary draft of a Unified Development Ordinance text amendment that would define several data-center types ("hyper data center, data center campuses, traditional data centers"), specify where the uses could be permitted, and include setbacks, lot requirements and noise regulations.
"This is a very preliminary draft. There's gonna be a lot of changes and amendments made to it as we're moving forward," McCallister said, describing the document as a template that includes sections for energy and water consumption but lacks final technical detail. He warned that the recent conditional-zoning changes at the state level are new and not yet fully understood by local planners.
Commissioners asked about pending state legislation (members referenced a House bill proposing a two-year moratorium on permitting) and the new conditional-zoning requirement. Several commissioners said the county should schedule neutral technical briefings; McCallister said he would reach out to NC State and try to arrange a presentation and would continue refining the draft with planning-board input.
Why it matters: The draft sets the structure for future local regulation of data centers. Commissioners emphasized the need for more localized impact data on water, energy and noise and for broader planning-board participation before the board considers adoption.
