Forsyth County Commissioners Reject Data Center Moratorium Proposal Citing Legal Risks
Forsyth County commissioners have voted against a proposal to implement a temporary moratorium on new data center developments. The decision was made during a recent meeting, where County Attorney Gordon Watkins advised the board that such a move carried significant legal risks. Commissioner Dan Besse had drafted a proposal for a six-month moratorium, arguing it would only apply to new projects, unlike a previous case in Chatham County where a developer successfully challenged a moratorium already in place for an ongoing project. Despite Besse's pushback, the board ultimately sided with Watkins' legal assessment. The vote was 5-2 against the moratorium, with Commissioners Besse and Tonya McDaniel casting the only 'yes' votes. This rejection comes amidst a trend in North Carolina, where at least 50 municipalities have adopted data center moratoriums in recent months due to concerns about their impact on local resources.
