The town of Highlands will hold a public hearing on a proposed data center moratorium ordinance at the Thursday, Aug. 20, town commissioners meeting.
The ordinance comes right on the heels of Macon County Commissioners’ vote to implement a one-year moratorium on development of the resource-intensive buildings to give the county time to explore how to control the expansion of the industry within its jurisdiction.
“Like many communities, we’re concerned about data centers or something similar to them being able to operate in Highlands,” said Mayor Patrick Taylor. “Although in reality, the amount of available land and space we have probably makes it unlikely that something like that would happen in our community, we want to make sure our zoning ordinances prevent those high impact uses, which would really be against what the town is about.”
The moratorium outlines a number of concerns regarding data centers, cryptocurrency mining facilities and other high-intensity computing facilities such as:
• The land-use impacts of intensive industrial development
• The high energy and water demand straining existing resources
• The need to protect water quality for downstream users
• Noise and low-frequency sound pollution
• Increased fire and emergency response demands
• The effect of development on community character, compatibility with surrounding uses and property values
Taylor said town attorney Nick Tosco recommended taking steps to plan for the future, as the industry is rapidly expanding.
When it came to the proliferation of short-term rental properties in the resort town, Taylor said Highlands was on its heels, regulating the practice after it had already gained popularity. For this issue, he said he hopes to get in front of any impacts the industry could have to Highlands before development can take place.
Following Thursday’s public hearing, Highlands commissioners will vote on the moratorium, and if passed, the town will then spend the next six to 12 months studying how to update its zoning ordinances.
According to the moratorium ordinance, the town will study the land-use impacts of data centers, review approaches comparable with North Carolina jurisdictions and review the permitting approval processes.