RICHMOND COUNTY, N.C. — An online petition is calling for a 12-month Richmond County data center moratorium while local leaders and residents evaluate the potential effects of large technology developments on water, electricity and quality of life.
Resident November Coffey created the petition Aug. 3. It asks Richmond County leaders to temporarily stop approving zoning requests, permits and development plans for additional data centers.
The requested moratorium would not affect the Amazon data-center campus already under construction at the Energy Way Industrial Park on Airport Road, south of Hamlet.
What the Richmond County data center moratorium would do
The petition describes the proposed 12-month moratorium as a cautionary pause. Supporters want the county to observe the effects of the Amazon campus before allowing more large-scale data centers to move forward.
Organizers say the pause would give local officials time to determine whether existing utility systems can support additional development without negatively affecting residents or other businesses.
The Richmond County data center moratorium petition specifically identifies power, water and the community’s overall quality of life as areas that should be studied.
As of 1:06 p.m. Aug. 4, the petition had collected 116 signatures and had been shared 112 times. Those totals may continue to change as the online campaign circulates.
Amazon project would not be stopped
The proposed moratorium would apply only to future data-center projects and approvals. Construction on Amazon’s multi-building campus near Hamlet would continue.
Residents have already raised environmental concerns connected to that project. More than 30 people spoke in opposition during a recent North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality public hearing involving two air-quality permits associated with the Amazon campus.
A protest and news conference were also held before that hearing.
Another property purchase adds to data-center concerns
The petition was launched shortly after another major land purchase connected to the data-center industry became public.
Property records cited by the Richmond Observer show that Digital Hamlet LP purchased more than 400 acres on County Home Road, across from the former Ninth Grade Academy.
The company appears to be associated with Digital Realty, a Texas-based business that operates hundreds of data centers around the world, including a location in Charlotte.
No development proposal for the County Home Road property was detailed in the original report. However, the purchase has added to public discussion about the future concentration of data centers in Richmond County.
Why residents are requesting a pause
Data centers require significant electrical infrastructure to operate servers, cooling equipment and other technology. Depending on a facility’s design, water may also be used as part of its cooling system.
Petition supporters want county leaders to study those demands locally before approving additional facilities. They argue that a temporary Richmond County data center moratorium would provide time to review infrastructure capacity and update development rules if needed.
What happens next?
The petition is a request to Richmond County officials and does not independently create a moratorium. At the time of the Richmond Observer’s report, county leaders had not been reported as adopting the proposed 12-month pause.
Residents are expected to continue raising questions about utility capacity, environmental effects and land-use planning as data-center development expands in the county.
Source: Original reporting by William R. Toler of the Richmond Observer.
