Davie County Data Center Moratorium

On July 6, County Commissioners unanimously passed a one year moratorium on data center development. Below is the proposed moratorium available on the County’s website. https://davieconc.portal.civicclerk.com/event/3993/files/attachment/660

Following public comments and at the recommendation of Commissioner Mark Jones, the proposed moratorium was revised at the July 6 meeting to remove early termination of the moratorium (see Section I, Item 2 strikethrough below).

ORDINANCE OF THE DAVIE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

IMPOSING A ONE-YEAR MORATORIUM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF

DATA CENTERS IN DAVIE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. §160D-107, local governments may adopt an ordinance

imposing a temporary moratorium on any development approval required by law; and

WHEREAS, the Davie County Board of Commissioners feels the Davie County zoning ordinance

may benefit from additional standards on the development of data centers; and

WHEREAS, the Davie County Board of Commissioners, at its July 6, 2026, meeting, held a

properly noticed legislative hearing regarding this moratorium in accordance with N.C.Gen.Stat.§160D-

107(b) ; and

WHEREAS, the Davie County Board of Commissioners recognizes that certain property and/or

projects are exempt from this moratorium under N.C. Gen. Stat. §160D- 107(c) and understands that

Davie County cannot enforce this moratorium as to exempt property and/or projects.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Davie County Board of Commissioners does and enacts the

following:

Section I- Term of the Moratorium

1. This moratorium shall be known as the Temporary Data Center Moratorium

("Moratorium").

2. This Moratorium shall commence on July 6, 2026, and expire no later than July 5,

2027. The Davie County Board of Commissioners ("Board") shall be permitted to

terminate this Moratorium early upon the passage of a resolution by a majority vote

of the Board.

3. For the purposes of this Moratorium, data centers shall be defined as: any building or

group of buildings containing one or more large-scale computer systems or

networked server computers for data storage, data processing, web hosting,

application hosting, streaming services, or other related services for off-site

users. Typical supporting equipment includes mechanical and electrical equipment,

redundant power supply connections, redundant data communications connections,

power generators, cooling units, and enhanced security features. The term “data

center” shall also encompass “cryptocurrency mining” and other comparable land

uses, and the terms shall be used interchangeably. The terms “cryptocurrency

mining,” as well as “crypto-mining,” or “crypto-mining operation” shall be defined

as any building or group of buildings containing one or more large-scale computer

systems or networked server computers for computationally-intensive applications

such as block-chain technology, validating block-chain transactions, cryptocurrency

mining, and other similar functions.

Section II- Statement of Problems, Conditions, and Alternatives

1. The Board acknowledges that the Davie County Zoning Ordinance ("Ordinance")

does not clearly define "data centers" nor provides for any rules or regulations

concerning same and therefore intends to amend the Davie County Zoning Ordinance

to provide for a definition of “Data centers”, to provide for their inclusion in the table

of uses and to provide for various regulations as to site plan and other requirements

necessary to adequately incorporate any data centers into the Davie County

Comprehensive Land Development Plan. This moratorium is being enacted to

consider amending the Davie County Code of Ordinances and the Comprehensive

Land Development Plan as to data centers subject to these considerations:

a. The Board recognizes that data center development is increasing at a rapid

rate in North Carolina and across the United States. The Board recognizes

that data center uses are ever-evolving, as are the technology and

infrastructure elements thereof.

b. The Board recognizes the economic benefits data center development may

provide, including creating an increased tax base that has significant potential

to subsidize the cost of local government for citizens.

c. The Board also recognizes concern among citizens regarding the ever-

evolving nature of data center development, potential impacts from data

center development, the potential impacts of data centers on the quality of

life of those living near them, and the strains data centers could place on

County infrastructures and utilities.

d. The Board recognizes that an ideal Ordinance would permit data center

development to increase the economic success and growth of Davie County

("County") while addressing and alleviating legitimate concerns regarding

data center development.

e. Given the rapid rise in data center development regionally, the Board feels it

pertinent to review the Ordinance and Comprehensive Land Development

Plan to ensure the coexistence of these goals of economic development and

citizen welfare.

f. By adopting this Moratorium, the County will have the time to properly

study and address the issues of developing a set of regulations as to site

planning, location, and other regulations associated with any data center

through studying, researching, and obtaining public input into any

regulations eventually adopted by the County. Further, the County will have

the time to review the Comprehensive Land Development Plan and the need

to amend same through the process outlined in Chapter 160D of the North

Carolina General Statutes to provide for data centers in the County.

g. The Board finds and determines that, although it could have undertaken said

review without issuing this Moratorium, proceeding without a pause in

development would have been inadequate in light of the rapid rate of data

center development in the region and the substantial time and effort needed

to properly develop an Ordinance and Development Plan governing data

centers.

Section III-Scope of the Moratorium

This Moratorium shall apply to all data centers as defined in Section I herein,

excluding those exempted by Section VI herein.

1. This Moratorium shall prohibit the issuance of any permit within the County’s

zoning jurisdiction for data center development, including but not limited to

zoning, building, and demolition permits, as well as receiving submittals for soil

erosion and sedimentation control plans.

2. This Moratorium shall prohibit the rezoning of any property for use as a data

center.

Section IV – Statement of Duration

1. This Moratorium shall be in effect for one (1) year beginning on July 6, 2026,

and expiring on July 5, 2027.

2. A one-year moratorium will provide the Board and County staff adequate time to

engage with all stakeholders, including Davie County citizens and data center

developers, to better understand the concerns of citizens and the benefits of data

centers.

3. A one-year moratorium will further allow the Davie County Planning Board and

County Staff adequate time to review and revise, if necessary, the Ordinance and

the Comprehensive Land Development Plan related to data centers to ensure they

address legitimate concerns while permitting responsible data center

development.

Section V – Statement and Schedule of Proposed Actions

1. From July 6, 2026, to no later than November 30, 2026, the Board, Planning Board,

and County Staff shall study the benefits and potential harms of data centers. This

process shall include at least one (1) properly noticed public hearing at a Davie

County Planning Board meeting to allow interested parties to voice concerns

regarding data centers and may include at least one (1) public presentation at a 6:00

PM Board meeting from a data center developer or industry expert on the potential

benefits of data centers and the ways in which they may mitigate presumed harms.

2. Simultaneous with the actions in Paragraph 1 of this Section, County Staff shall

study development restrictions placed on data centers by other counties and

municipalities with a focus on emerging data center technologies.

3. No later than April 1, 2027, County Staff shall begin preparing proposed revisions

to the Ordinance based on information gathered in the first phase of this

Moratorium timeline as well as any new information learned in preparing said

proposals. If County Staff makes a determination that no changes to the Ordnance

are needed, they shall prepare a memorandum supporting that determination.

4. No later than April 30, 2027, the Planning Board shall conduct a courtesy hearing

on the proposed changes to the Ordinance developed pursuant to Paragraph 3 of

this Section. If County Staff determines that no changes to the Ordinance are

warranted, a courtesy hearing shall be held on that determination as well. The

Planning Board Shall then make a recommendation to the Board.

5. No later than July 5, 2027 the Board shall hold a public hearing on the proposed

changes to the Ordinance and vote on whether to adopt said proposed changes. If

no changes to the Ordinance are proposed, County Staff shall provide a report of

the same to the Board at a public meeting on later than July 5, 2027.

6. This Moratorium shall expire on July 5, 2027.

Section VI – Exemptions

1. All property or projects which qualify for an exemption from this Moratorium

under N.C. Gen. Stat. 160D-107(c) and North Carolina common law are exempt.

Section VII – Severability

1. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is, for any

reason, held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the

remaining portions of this ordinance. The Board hereby declares that it would

have passed this ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, or

phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections,

sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid.

Section VIII – Other Ordinances

1. All Davie County ordinances that conflict with this Ordinance are hereby

repealed to the extent of such conflict.

Adopted by the Davie County Board of Commissioners, this 6th day of July 2026.

_______________________________

Chairman

_______________________________

Clerk to the Board