Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Data Centers topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and a local judge press Northampton County for transparency on data centers
Summary
Public commenters at a Northampton County commissioners meeting urged transparency and stronger study of proposed data-center development, citing concerns about water use, noise and potential rapid approval of draft ordinance language.
Residents and at least one local judge pressed the Northampton County Board of Commissioners on data-center proposals during public comment and a staff presentation, urging more transparency and technical study before any ordinance changes.
Tara Davis, a Gettysburg resident, told the board she supports studying data centers but opposed locating them in the county, saying, "From my understanding, there's an estimate of 300,000 to 5,000,000, gallons of water is gonna be used each day to keep these database running." She warned that higher water and electric costs and potential chemical discharges would strain residents on fixed incomes and that construction jobs would be temporary.
Judge Alfred Koschepi criticized the handling of a planning-board moratorium request and asked why a planning-board moratorium item had been removed from a March agenda. He told commissioners the planning board had recommended a pause and questioned whether county officials or staff had talked with developers before the board's May 4 moratorium action. "Don't fall for the okeydoke," he said, describing what he called a push to fast-track data centers.
Chair Martin and staff responded that the moratorium item had been removed from the March 2 agenda because a public hearing had not been advertised and that the night's presentation was informational, not an action item. County staff said they had not had conversations with data-center developers and offered to provide the email invite list for a recent site visit and to schedule a neutral technical briefing from NC State.
Why it matters: Commissioners have adopted a 32-month moratorium intended to provide time to study data-center impacts. Residents and commissioners said they want more localized data on water, energy and noise impacts and broader planning-board and public involvement before the county considers any ordinance changes.
