From the Desk to the County Manager, August 28, 2026

Greetings, Durham!

I am Maurice Jones, and I serve as Deputy County Manager for Durham County. The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) took a critical step in protecting Durham County from the development of hyperscale data centers by approving a moratorium during its meeting on August 24, 2026. The nine-month moratorium prohibits both the creation of new data centers and the expansion of current data centers, beyond 100,000 total square feet.

What Are Data Centers?

Data centers are physical facilities or buildings that house groups of networked computers, servers, and data storage infrastructure used by companies to organize, process, store, and share large amounts of digital information. The most common types of data centers include the following:

• Cloud and Hyperscale: Large facilities run by companies like Google, Amazon and Meta. These facilities are typically 200,000+ square feet, with many occupying millions of square feet.  
   
• AI-Focused: Large, specialized buildings built for heavy artificial intelligence computing.

• Enterprise: Private buildings owned by a single company for internal use.

• Edge: Smaller sites placed near local users to speed up real-time apps.

There are currently an estimated 15-20 data centers in Durham County, with the majority of those centers considered “Enterprise” or “Edge” facilities.

As data centers have expanded across the state and nation, some jurisdictions have enacted temporary moratoria on facilities, citing concerns about rising utility costs and environmental effects. Large or “hyperscale” data centers can require significant electricity and water resources and may have impacts on infrastructure, the environment, and surrounding communities.

Board of County Commissioners Issue Temporary Moratorium: What It Means

A temporary moratorium for such facilities is a reasonable and necessary measure to allow County staff and the Planning & Development Department sufficient time to study the issues, engage with stakeholders, draft appropriate amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance, present to regulatory and advisory boards, and allow the County to adopt any needed amendments to the Durham Code of Ordinances.

The BOCC considered an absolute ban on all data centers. However, there was concern that approach would unduly stifle the growth of companies seeking construction or expansion of smaller data centers, especially in and around the Research Triangle Park and the Treyburn Corporate Park Park. In response, the Board approved an exemption of centers that are below 100,000 square feet in size. This would prohibit the large data projects while allowing smaller, “Enterprise” or “Edge” data centers to move forward.  

The City/County Planning & Development staff have been researching data centers and their impacts and working with the Central Pines Regional Council working group. City and County staff along with the working group have been:

• Developing a model ordinance that may be used regionally;
• Promoting the resident survey that was published to gather engagement data on resident concerns and potential impacts;
• Meeting with the Environmental Affairs Board.

Next Steps

During this research and drafting phase, staff will provide updates to the Joint City County Planning Committee, and their feedback will be incorporated into the draft ordinance. Staff anticipate having a draft ordinance by December. The adoption process is scheduled to begin in January 2027, with the proposed ordinance going before the Planning Commission for a recommendation in early 2027. The goal is to have an amended ordinance for the County by May of next year.

We appreciate the community’s engagement throughout this process and look forward to ongoing collaboration regarding data centers in Durham.

Respectfully,

Maurice T. Jones