Clyde enacts moratorium as broader data center fight builds
A crowd fills Clyde’s town hall during an April 16 hearing on a proposed data center moratorium, reflecting widespread opposition as officials warn the issue will be shaped far beyond town limits.
Cory Vaillancourt
The tiny Haywood County Town of Clyde has joined a growing number of Western North Carolina communities by formalizing its opposition to data centers through a 12-month moratorium, but with limited jurisdiction beyond its borders and the possibility of preemption by Raleigh looming, Clyde knows it can’t go it alone.
“Us as representatives, obviously, we’re here to help, to represent you all’s interests, but your voices are hugely important,” said Clyde Mayor Pro Tem Frank Lay. “Now is your time.”
From a municipal government perspective, the April 16 public hearing in Clyde’s town hall proceeded much the way such hearings have in other jurisdictions — a small room, crammed full of residents eager to speak out against data centers and the problems they can create.
“Out of curiosity, is there anybody here that’s in favor of these things?” Mayor Jim Trantham asked after nearly an hour of discussion. No one stepped forward. “We might have had two empty chairs [during the hearing]. That speaks for itself.”
Opposition to data centers coalesced around a broad set of environmental, economic and quality-of-life concerns, with speakers repeatedly warning that such facilities would strain already fragile infrastructure while offering little in return. Speakers cited massive water consumption as incompatible with a community that has already faced shortages and infrastructure stress, especially following recent disasters.
Concerns extended to electrical demand with fears that new high-load facilities would require costly upgrades ultimately passed on to ratepayers, compounding frustration over Duke Energy’s proposed rate increases.
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Noise pollution again emerged as a dominant theme, with speakers describing constant, far-reaching industrial hum that could depress property values and disrupt the quiet that defines much of the region.
Economic arguments against data centers were equally consistent, focusing on a mismatch between supposed benefits and lived experience of residents in communities where data centers have been established.
Speakers emphasized that data centers generate few permanent local jobs, rely on specialized outside labor and offer little meaningful contribution to the local tax base while receiving extensive tax exemptions. On April 8, Gov. Josh Stein said on Facebook that if all of the data centers that are proposed are built in North Carolina, their owners would receive an estimated $450 million in sales tax exemptions every year.
“It doesn’t make much sense to me,” Stein said in the post.
Other speakers warned that the facilities could undermine the region’s tourism-driven economy, which depends on natural beauty, clean water and a quiet environment, while also threatening wildlife and ecosystems, including species unique to Western North Carolina.
The town limits of Clyde — home to maybe 1,500 people — are defined by a mile-wide circle centered on the small downtown. Although the Pigeon River runs directly through downtown, adjacent properties are flood-prone, and there’s really no place big enough to put an industrial-scale data center.
Others warned of legal loopholes and aggressive industry tactics, while some questioned whether rapid advances in technology could render large-scale data centers obsolete before communities ever see benefits.
Town Administrator Joy Garland said there have been no inquiries from companies looking to locate data centers in the town, but several speakers did note that Clyde’s small size and limited jurisdiction leave it vulnerable to development just outside town limits that would still affect residents.
Across nearly every comment, the tone was not merely opposition but urgency, with repeated calls for countywide coordination and stronger action — culminating in multiple speakers urging the town to pursue moratoria longer than the proposed one-year limit, including multi-year or even permanent moratoria.
Lay, an attorney, explained why that wasn’t possible.
“They are designed to be temporary,” Lay said. “The general rule that [the General Assembly] imposed, that case law has recognized, is that generally speaking, a year is sort of the outside limit of a moratorium where the purpose imposed is to allow us to do some research on the issue.”
The moratorium states that Clyde “shall not accept, process or approve any application for zoning permits, conditional use permits, site plans, building permits or other development approvals for the construction, establishment or expansion of a data center within the town” for 12 months, during which time the town will study the issue and consider further action.
Accordingly, Clyde becomes the fourth local government in Haywood County to take a stand on the issue, in one way or another.
Concerns over cryptocurrency mining first surfaced in Haywood County in early 2023, when commissioners began exploring regulations before any large-scale operations could take hold. Commissioners reacted to mounting evidence from other Western North Carolina counties, where mining operations generated persistent noise, strained electrical infrastructure and delivered little in the way of jobs or economic benefit. Rather than wait for a proposal, leaders signaled an intent to act preemptively, studying potential ordinances and land-use controls aimed at keeping incompatible industrial uses out of quiet rural communities.
By late 2023, that early concern had evolved into action by Haywood County and the Town of Waynesville, which began creating regulatory frameworks to “stay ahead” of cryptocurrency mining. The issue was no longer hypothetical; local governments were responding to inquiries and the growing realization that once Big Data shows up, it’s difficult to remove.
Haywood County strengthened its high-impact development ordinance to impose strict limits on water use, energy demand and site impacts for data centers and crypto mining operations, while Waynesville moved more aggressively, banning cryptocurrency mining outright within town limits and restricting traditional data centers — generally smaller, company-scale operations that use less resources — to specific industrial districts.
Simmering concerns escalated into outright resistance by early 2026, when Canton imposed a one-year moratorium on data centers, cryptocurrency mining and similar high-impact digital infrastructure amid redevelopment at the 185-acre former paper mill site. Driven by public opposition and — again — lessons learned from other communities, Canton officials described the facilities as potentially disruptive to energy systems, water resources and quality of life while offering limited local benefit. Canton’s move marked a turning point, transforming years of precautionary discussion into concrete policy and signaling a broader shift in Haywood County toward skepticism of large-scale data operations.
For all the unanimity inside Clyde’s town hall — and across Haywood County — the town’s authority may matter less than what happens hundreds of miles away.
“I would encourage all of you to express your concerns, to continue beyond just our town … be aware that at the state level — so our state representatives, state senator, state house — those folks also are looking right now at the issue of preempting or taking away our authority to have anything to do with this,” Lay said.
Although it may seem far-fetched to some, there’s ample precedent for North Carolina’s conservative General Assembly stepping in to prohibit local governments from exercising their powers. In the 2023–24 state budget, the General Assembly quietly inserted a provision barring cities and counties from regulating “auxiliary containers,” a broadly defined category that includes plastic bags, paper bags, cups and most common forms of packaging. The language effectively wiped out local authority to ban plastic bags, impose fees or place any restrictions on their use, overriding policies some communities had already adopted.
The move served as an example of state preemption, where lawmakers in Raleigh set uniform rules that supersede local decision-making, even on issues with localized impacts. For critics, it underscored a growing tension between the state’s push for consistency and the ability of municipalities to respond to the specific needs and values of their residents.
As North Carolina heads into midterm elections this fall, the legislative landscape will continue to change; however, no candidate reached by The Smoky Mountain News supports state preemption of local government regulations on data centers.
In the 118th House District, Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) lost his Primary Election in March and will not be returning to Raleigh next year, leaving Democrat Danny Davis or Republican Jimmy Rogers to address the issue should it come up.
Given that Pless’ loss was at least partially attributable to his 2023 state preemption of Maggie Valley’s ability to exercise authority over its extra-territorial jurisdiction, the issue of data center preemption is sensitive in the Haywood/Madison district, at least ideologically.
“I don’t think they should do that,” Davis said of General Assembly preemption on the data center issue. “I’m certainly not in favor of taking rights away from local governments.”
Davis’ opponent, Rogers, agrees with him.
“I do not think that you’re going to see the state impose a ban [on data center regulation by local governments]. I do not think that would pass,” he said. “The state should not be involved in a town’s ability to do that. The towns and local governments should have the authority. The state should be there to assist them and support their decisions.”
The 119th District has also seen a significant and abrupt change in representation after the recent passing of Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain). In an April 11 vote, Republicans selected Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians enrolled member Anna Ferguson, a Jackson County businesswoman, to serve the remainder of Clampitt’s term and take his place on the ballot in November.
“If it were to become an issue, I feel like we need to refer to local government as the experts in what’s right and not right for their communities,” Ferguson told SMN. “They are the authority on what their constituents want, and we need to trust that [local governments] are acting in the best interests of their constituents. So no, I would not support it.”
Ferguson’s opponent, Transylvania County Democrat Mark Burrows, who has extensive local government experience, largely concurred.
“In general, I believe that local governments should have greater autonomy in trying to control their destiny,” Burrows said. “I would not be in favor of the state taking away that control. I think local governments have a better understanding of what their needs are and how they should be addressed.”
In the state’s westernmost House district, House majority whip Karl Gillespie (R-Macon) leaned on his experience in local government to carve out a clear position.
“Being an old county commissioner, I believe that some of the best decisions are made the closer you are to where the water hits the wheel,” Gillespie said. “I think that county commissioners are best equipped to do that. Some of my counties that have taken action, and some haven’t. I'm going to support those county commissioners’ decisions, because I think they're doing the will of people, and that's, that's what we need to be doing as elected officials.”
Gillespie’s opponent, Macon County educator and Army Reserve Lieutenant Caleb Brown, likewise, isn’t supportive of preemption.
“Number one, I oppose any attempt by the State Legislature to enforce preemption on counties or municipalities, so that involves like the location of data centers,” Brown said. “So the other part of that is, I fully support Gov. Stein’s effort to reexamine the tax breaks that we've given data centers in the state of North Carolina.”
In the state’s westernmost Senate district, incumbent Kevin Corbin (R-Macon) will face Jackson County Democrat Tom Downing. When asked if he would support state preemption of local decision making on data centers, Downing was direct.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “We can’t say that our local governments are the strength of our state — and they are because they know their people, they know what works, they know their municipalities — and then turn around and micromanage them at every step. We have to let municipalities and counties regulate themselves, because local people have to live with it. This is just another example of Republicans in the General Assembly being out of touch with reality.”
Corbin is also a former Macon County commissioner and — like Gillespie — said he had not heard any discussion in Raleigh about preemption but wouldn’t support it anyway.
“As many decisions as possible ought to be made at a local level, not from Raleigh or Washington,” he said.
