Scope
Durham County's Deputy County Manager reports that the Board of County Commissioners approved a nine-month moratorium on 24 August 2026 that prohibits both the creation of new data centers and the expansion of current data centers beyond 100,000 total square feet. The county states that the Board approved an exemption for data centers below 100,000 square feet. The county's statement does not give the moratorium's text, its geographic reach or its effective day.
- Geographic scope
- Durham County, North Carolina
- Jurisdiction
- Local
- Authority type
- Local government
- Issuing authority
- Durham County Board of County Commissioners
Dates
- Adopted
- 24 August 2026
- Effective
- Effective status not verified
- Scheduled expiration
- See completion condition
- Ended
- Not recorded as ended
- Completion condition
- The county describes a nine-month moratorium. No effective day or calendar end date is printed, so no end date is computed.
- Source document
- 28 August 2026
- Last checked
- 30 October 2026
Summary
Durham County reports that its Board of County Commissioners approved a nine-month data center moratorium at its 24 August 2026 meeting. As the county describes it, the moratorium prohibits the creation of new data centers and the expansion of current data centers beyond 100,000 total square feet, while exempting smaller facilities below that size. County staff expect to draft permanent data center rules during the moratorium. It is a temporary measure, not a permanent prohibition, and the county's statement does not say it orders existing data centers to close.
What this does not establish
- The evidence is a statement by the Deputy County Manager on the county website dated 28 August 2026. The adopted ordinance or resolution, its number and the vote were not opened.
- The 3 August 2026 work session agenda describes a draft temporary moratorium on accepting and processing new applications with possible exemptions; the adopted terms may differ from that draft.
- Whether the moratorium applies only in the county's own zoning jurisdiction or also within the City of Durham is not stated. The City of Durham's own moratorium is not covered by this record.
- No effective day is printed, so no end date is computed from the nine-month term.
Unresolved questions
- The day the moratorium took effect and the resulting end of the nine-month term are not stated in the county's statement.
- The adopted text, including how the 100,000-square-foot threshold is measured.
Relationships
Supersession means a later instrument replaces the earlier legal effect. Repeal links identify the repeal instrument and the measure it ends. A later implementation or related letter is not treated as a replacement unless the record says so.
- No related action is recorded.
Sources
Primary source: Durham County Board of County Commissioners page on dconc.gov
- Board of County Commissioners work session agenda and minutes, 3 August 2026 — Discussion of the draft moratorium before adoption; not the adopted text · 3 August 2026