Durham County commissioners voted to approve a 12-month pause on data center development.
During Monday's county commissioners' meeting, commissioners approved a one-year moratorium on that kind of development. This comes after the county implemented a 60-day moratorium in May.
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Commissioners voted on amending the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), which pertains to the use and development of land and buildings, to allow for a longer moratorium and adopt a consistency statement required by state law.
The amendment would remove the requirement for a planning commission review and the local restriction on the length of time a moratorium can be imposed.
The state restrictions on the length of time for a moratorium would still need to be followed by the county, according to the agenda item.
According to the agenda item for the county discussion, the goal would be to give the local government time to develop appropriate regulations for certain land use.
The debate over data centers goes far beyond Durham.
WRAL News has covered many towns and counties that have placed moratoriums on data centers, which are home to computers that power AI and require enormous amounts of electricity.
Most recently, the town of Holly Springs approved a one-year pause.
Wake County, Chatham County, Orange County, and Fayetteville all have moratoriums as well.
A main concern with data centers is their use of water. Some residents also have concerns about noise pollution that could hurt property values.
The Durham County meeting starts at 7 p.m.