No Data Centers in Northampton County! Support a Data Center Moratorium.

Northampton County Commissioners

Residents of Northampton County want transparency on whether or not data centers could come to the county. For years, residents have carried the burden of infrastructure and facilities that harm the air, water, and overall quality of life — often without receiving fair investment, community input, or protection in return. Adding large data centers into this county would further strain local resources and deepen these existing injustices.

Data centers do not employ many people long-term. Construction jobs are temporary. They are also demanding of water and energy. Nationally, data centers are one reason electric bills are rising 2x faster than inflation. We need to study this more before sanctioning data centers entering our county!

To: Northampton County Commissioners
From: [Your Name]

Residents of Northampton County ask you to please pause new data center projects while you put the right rules in place. This pause (moratorium) will help protect County residents while we plan for growth, understand costs to the County, and guide development to the right places.

We believe this is important for these reasons:

-Protect our way of life: Large data centers use a lot of land, water, and electricity. They could change our rural community and quiet way of life. A pause would give you time to hear our concerns and study the impacts.

-Put the right rules in place: A moratorium gives you time to update zoning rules so data centers are planned in a fair and responsible way. This also gives you time to understand costs to the county and service needs before projects move forward.

-Address impacts to residents: A moratorium gives you time to study and reduce air, water, and noise pollution, including cumulative pollution. Our county already deals with other industrial pollution that affects our health and environment.

-Join other forward-thinking communities: Many other North Carolina counties and towns are working on rules for data centers. Places like Chatham County, Gates County, and towns such as Apex, Canton, Wendell, and Boone, have paused data center growth to protect their communities. We ask you to do the same.

A moratorium is not a “no.” It is a smart, time-limited pause so we can get it right, minimize impacts to residents, and welcome the right projects in the right places.

Thank you for your time and for considering this request.