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Candidate urges 180‑day moratorium on new data center applications
Summary
Cambry Wood, a candidate for Columbia County commission chair, asked the board to place a resolution on an upcoming agenda to impose a 180‑day moratorium on new data‑center applications and to require extensive public engagement while staff drafts a new ordinance.
Cambry Wood, a candidate for Columbia County commission chair, urged the board during public comment to adopt a temporary 180‑day moratorium on accepting and processing new data‑center applications. "This resolution is not intended as a wholesale rejection of data centers," Wood said, adding the pause would allow staff and the public to evaluate infrastructure, environmental, and decommissioning impacts before future applications proceed.
Wood outlined a three‑step public engagement plan tied to the moratorium: at least three town halls (pre‑draft, draft review, and response to comments) and a staff review of existing ordinances to identify gaps on land use, setbacks, noise, generator operations, utility demand and decommissioning. "They should be addressed before additional applications are submitted," she said, arguing decisions of this magnitude require more than limited comment periods.
Commissioners did not take immediate action on the proposed resolution; one commissioner said they had already requested ordinance changes and were working with colleagues to build support for a moratorium. The public comment closes without a formal vote; the board could place the resolution on a future agenda for formal consideration and staff review.
