Mount Airy's pause on new data center development is coming to an end. The Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday night to let the city's data center moratorium expire, clearing the way for the current moratorium to lapse on Dec. 13.
The vote, reported by WXII 12, came after commissioners weighed whether to extend the hold yet again or finally move forward. Commissioner Chad Hutchens argued that repeatedly halting the process with new moratoriums could stall development in the town altogether, according to the station. Hutchens also pointed out that data center developers had already been given 12 months to produce a plan that accommodates everyone's needs, suggesting the city had given the issue ample time.
Hutchens raised a pointed warning about what happens next: without a regulatory document in place, he said, developers could simply build under the city's more lax current regulations once the moratorium lifts. That tension — between wanting firmer rules and running out the clock on the pause that was supposed to produce them — sat at the center of Thursday's debate.
Residents Had Their Say, But Mostly Stayed Quiet
Board members noted that Mount Airy residents had multiple opportunities to speak on the issue before Thursday's vote. One board member interpreted the relative lack of public comment as a sign that residents trust the city's ability to implement sufficient data center regulations going forward.
That reading follows weeks of more vocal pushback earlier in the process. At an Oct. 15 public hearing, speakers raised concerns about noise, water usage and the distance required between data centers and nearby homes, according to The Mount Airy News. The newspaper also reported that city officials were preparing to take final action on an ordinance regulating data centers before Thursday's meeting.
Around that same hearing, the planning director said the city had received only general inquiries about the rules that would be implemented, not any formal applications, the newspaper's related report on the hearing noted. One board member said Thursday that the city is not opposed to data centers but wants responsible development that does not leave residents footing the bill, adding that the proposed ordinance addresses those concerns. Board members said the city should begin moving forward after what had already been extensive discussion.
Mount Airy Is Part Of A Broader Wave
Mount Airy's debate has unfolded alongside a statewide trend. More North Carolina communities have moved to temporarily halt data center development as local leaders grapple with the industry's rapid growth, according to Public Radio East. That report noted officials had approved similar moratoriums in nearby Davie and Surry counties, while Davidson County commissioners voted in July to direct staff to draft a six-month moratorium of their own.
Chatham County commissioners went further, unanimously approving a full one-year moratorium on new data centers, per The News & Observer. The paper has also reported that local leaders across the state say a new down-zoning law has disrupted their routine planning processes. Data centers tend to draw this kind of scrutiny, the outlet notes, because the warehouse-like facilities consume considerable amounts of water and electricity while employing relatively few people.
State law gives cities the authority to adopt these pauses in the first place. Under North Carolina General Assembly statute § 160D-107, local governments may adopt temporary moratoria, though the provision does not spell out every requirement governing how long such pauses can last or what must follow them.
For Mount Airy, the Dec. 13 expiration now sets a firm deadline. Whatever rules the city has in place by then — or does not — will determine how the next data center proposal gets handled.
