Overview
- Durham County commissioners voted Monday to amend the county’s Unified Development Ordinance to give local governments more flexibility to adopt future development moratoria without creating a countywide pause.
- County leaders stressed the UDO change does not itself block data centers and that any moratorium would require a separate vote by the commission.
- Three Florida counties — Clay, Hernando and Lake — moved Tuesday to advance or approve one‑year moratoriums that bar applications, permitting and rezoning for large data centers while officials study impacts.
- County attorneys warned that moratoria longer than one year risk legal challenges over property rights, and Florida recently passed a law aimed at stopping firms from shifting utility costs to residents.
- Public hearings in North Carolina and Florida featured residents raising concerns about heavy water use, added electricity demand, noise and long‑term land‑use changes, and officials say the next phase will be drafting rules and legal reviews.