Durham County commissioners voted Monday night to put a pause on data centers.
Commissioners held a public hearing on a data center moratorium last night, and after hearing from residents voted 4-1 to approve a nine-month moratorium on new or expanded data centers.
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The move comes after a vote in June that amended the county's Unified Development Ordinance to allow for a longer moratorium than the 60-day pause that was passed in May. The county said the moratorium's timeline aligns with one passed by the city of Durham, which will allow the jurisdictions to coordinate regulatory approaches.
Monday's moratorium vote included some exemptions to allow for smaller data centers to move forward with development. People spoke during the public session and said they were concerned about some exemptions that were included.
"I want to emphasize the Durham community's call for a more straight-forward moratorium, and when you hear these calls for a moratorium, we are not saying, 'We want a moratorium, but...,' we are saying, 'We want a moratorium, period,'" a resident said.
The moratorium will remain in effect until May 2027 and included data centers that are less than 100,000 square feet.
The move comes amid public outrage over data centers in the Triangle and the amount of land, power and water they consume.
Data center supporters have pushed back, arguing the facilities help generate needed tax revenue and jobs.
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The moratoriums are not bans on data center development. Instead, they’re temporary pauses - some lasting just a few weeks, others years - on new data center projects while city staff and leaders research the topic and consider new regulations.