The Greensboro City Council passed a 180-day moratorium Tuesday on new data centers with electrical demand exceeding 10 megawatts. The length of the pause, which council will use to establish new ordinances related to data centers, is longer than the originally proposed 120 days but far short of the 32 months for which many residents have advocated.
The vote was 8-0, with Mayor Pro Tem Denise Roth recusing herself.
The council split 5-4 against a moratorium last month before reversing itself and unanimously voting to craft a targeted 120-day moratorium, which they expanded to 180-days after public input. This week, as momentum against data centers continues to build in North Carolina and nationwide, speakers at public hearings Monday and Tuesday said that is not long enough.
“Although I do not personally believe four months is adequate time to solicit community input, I applaud you for reversing your previous stance on this issue,” said Brigette Rasberry at Monday’s hearing. “However, in doing so and suggesting an insufficient time frame, one would have to question whether you truly want community input or are merely checking off a box.”
The next four to six months will be a period of students returning to classes at the city’s K-12 schools and universities, the mid-term elections, and the 100th homecoming celebration at N.C. A&T State University, Rasberry said. That’s a busy period, she said—not an ideal time to also attempt to meaningfully shape policies around an issue as controversial as data centers.
The crowd in the packed city council chamber loudly applauded criticism of the council and the proposed four-month moratorium, raising signs that read “32.”
Michelle Kennedy, a former city council member, made a rare appearance before council Monday to push for a longer moratorium.
“Greensboro has a history of placing disproportionate environmental, infrastructure, and economic burdens on historically underserved communities while those same communities have too often had the least political power and influence to stop or change it,” Kennedy said. “We should not repeat that pattern with data centers.”
Kennedy, who served on council from 2017 to 2021, left the council to become the director of the city’s Housing & Neighborhood Development department. She left that position last March and became the planning and development director in Black Mountain. Kennedy has rarely spoken publicly on Greensboro politics since then, but recently leveled criticisms against both the council and City Attorney Lora Cubbage, revealing for the first time that her separation agreement with the city required her to agree not to run for council last year. The city paid Kennedy $132,000, according to the agreement.
A Recusal Over Dream Center
Ahead of Monday’s public hearing and Tuesday’s vote, Mayor Pro Tem Denise Roth surprised many by asking her fellow council members to allow her to recuse herself from the vote and further discussion of ordinances around data centers.
Roth is on the board of directors of the Gateway Research Park, where there are plans for a previously approved data center called the Dream Center. Though the city attorney told Roth she does not have a direct conflict of interest, Roth said she has come to feel she should step away from the data center issue in which she has been heavily involved in the last few months to “protect the integrity of the process and public confidence in the decisions council ultimately makes.”
A previous council approved more than $530,000 in incentives for the project in 2022. The plan then included a projection that the 65,000-square-foot center would use 9 megawatts of power, would create 28 jobs, and would invest $108.5 million in the Greensboro project by 2026.
“My prior understanding was that the data center ordinance and related moratorium would not have implications for the Dream Center,” Roth said in a written statement. “Recent information, however, has indicated that the relationship between these policy actions and the Dream Center may not be as clear-cut as previously understood, and their potential implications for the project remain unclear.”
The plan approved by a previous council expired last year, the city attorney told council members at Monday’s meeting. Though construction was supposed to have begun this year, it has yet to begin. Therefore, any new plan for the center may indeed fall under ordinances crafted by the new council. Given how intertwined the Dream Center has become with discussions of data centers yet to come before the council, Roth said, she thought it best to recuse herself. Her fellow council members agreed, voting unanimously to allow her recusal.
“Given my role on the Gateway board, I believe the appropriate course is to request recusal in order to avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest,” Roth said Monday.
‘We are Taking This Very Seriously’
After the council approved the 180-day moratorium Tuesday, its members assured the dissatisfied members of the public that they heard their concerns. Should six months not be a long enough moratorium, some emphasized, the council can expand it.
“As someone who is born and raised in District 2, I really want people to understand that we are taking this very seriously,” said Councilmember Cecile Crawford, who represents that district. “We cannot say that enough. We really need you to understand that we live in the districts we know will be impacted by these data centers.”
Those who worry six months won’t be enough time to craft proper ordinances around data centers should understand that council members have been at work on the ordinances since January, she said. The council wanted a moratorium to be sure they had time to fully research what other communities are doing and find the best fit for Greensboro, Crawford said, and believe they can do that in six months.
Coming from a community organizing background herself, Crawford said, she appreciates the public input and wants it to continue. But the community also needs to trust the council to do its work.
“You elected us to speak on your behalf in the rooms where we are and legislate for our best interest,” she said. “I just don’t want people to leave, because you didn’t get the 32-month moratorium, and think that we don’t care and that we aren’t already doing the work, and we aren’t already serious about it.”
Councilmember Adam Marshall, who represents District 4, said he believes six months is enough time for the council to do what needs to be done to address public concerns around data centers.
“We know it won’t please everybody,” Marshall said of the 180-day moratorium. “But we’re confident that we have the ability to study this issue and develop good policy—and put regulations in place that protect our citizens and still maintain a community that is open for business and a good place for folks to invest in our community. And I’m confident we can do both of those things.”
At-large Councilmember Irving Allen encouraged the public to stay engaged. The council initially voted against a moratorium and then voted to craft one, he reminded them. Now, it has adopted a moratorium that is longer than what it initially proposed.
“You are impacting this conversation,” Allen said. “And we’ve got a lot more work to do.”
