Beaufort County weighs ban, moratorium or strict rules for data centers

County staff presented four regulatory paths for data centers in unincorporated Beaufort County: a complete ban, regulated allowance with conditions, taking no action under existing zoning, or a moratorium to allow time for study and public input.

"They range from an a complete and total ban of the use within the unincorporated county to regulation of specific aspects, or having specific, processes in place for data centers in order to move forward," staff said while outlining options that would be implemented as amendments to the community development code. Staff noted moratoria are often used by counties to buy time for study while preserving the option to adopt a permanent ordinance later.

Presenters and committee members repeatedly highlighted resource and community impacts. One council member framed the key policy questions as resource consumption, quality of life, economic impact and zoning infrastructure, and warned the committee needed a focused workshop to fully examine those areas. "These data centers can consume as much electricity as a 100,000 homes and they use millions of gallons of water daily for evaporative cooling," a member said, urging targeted technical metrics for any follow‑up workshop.

The committee discussed expedited procedural options (special committee meeting, planning commission timetable, and invoking pending‑ordinance mechanics) and debated whether to start both a moratorium and ordinance work simultaneously. Legal and staff input emphasized timelines and potential legal vulnerabilities of broad bans, and recommended parallel tracks to preserve options.

After deliberation the committee unanimously directed the administration to prepare a moratorium ordinance and an ordinance package that would let council choose between heavy regulation or a complete ban at later readings.