Nash County is the latest to get involved in a conversation about data centers.
More than two dozen North Carolina communities have adopted moratoriums or zoning restrictions on data centers as concerns grow over noise, electricity demand, and water use.
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Nash County met on Wednesday to discuss updates to its Unified Development Ordinance, which included land development regulations for data centers.
"Data centers consume tremendous amounts of water and other resources," one resident said during the meeting.
"There are so many negative things we hear about them," another resident said.
Nash County Planning Director Adam Tyson said the goal is to establish tools for county commissioners should they be presented with a data center proposal.
"We're looking at establishing specific development standards that a proposal for a data center would have to meet in order to be permitted for construction," he said.
The UDO proposes the establishment of a land use category for “data centers” and permits their development only in GI: General Industrial Zoning Districts and only with the issuance of a Special Use Permit following a quasi-judicial public hearing process. Adopt substantial separation distance requirements between “data centers” and roads or property that is residentially used or zoned. Address operational impacts such as noise and use of electrical and water utilities.
Tyson said there are currently no proposals for data centers in Nash County.
"In this moment, it's all hypothetical, but our elected officials are taking it very seriously, because they know that it is a prospect in the future," he said.
The next step is for the language in the UDO to be transformed into an ordinance, which will eventually come up for a vote.