Cumberland County, North Carolina, is a few weeks from deciding how it will regulate data centers. The Cumberland County Joint Planning Board voted unanimously on Oct. 20 to approve a draft data center ordinance and send it to the Board of Commissioners. According to county staff quoted by CityView, commissioners will take it up on Nov. 12 and are on track for a final vote in December.
The schedule is tight. CityView reports that the county's six-month moratorium on data centers, imposed this summer, expires Dec. 15. The county's own data center information page puts the moratorium approval on June 15, 2026. If commissioners stay on schedule, the permanent rules would be adopted shortly before the pause ends.
The county page also says the draft "remains under review and has not been adopted."
Where Data Centers Could Go
CityView reports that the ordinance would apply to the county's unincorporated areas and to the Town of Eastover. Data centers would be allowed only on land zoned for manufacturing, and only with permission from the Board of Commissioners. Each project would need commissioner approval before it could be built.
The draft also sets distance requirements that are much larger than those in earlier versions. According to CityView:
- Property-line setbacks: Data center buildings would have to sit 800 feet from property lines, up from 500 feet in an earlier version. In some circumstances, such as proximity to residential property, the setback rises to 1,200 feet.
- Sensitive uses: Buildings would have to be at least 2,000 feet from schools, churches, group homes, hospitals and day cares, up from 1,250 feet. CityView notes that exceptions apply.
CityView reports that the regulations also cover buffering, the hours when backup generators may be tested, water use and electricity use.
The Noise Standard Changed Between Drafts
The noise rules changed the most between drafts. CityView reports that the current draft requires data centers to follow the county's existing noise ordinance, which sets a 75-decibel limit for manufacturing and industrial properties. An earlier draft would have set data-center-specific limits of 60 decibels, and 45 decibels next to residential property.
Planning and Inspections Director Rawls Howard said projects must certify before construction that they will comply with the noise rules, and must do sound studies if complaints arise, according to CityView.
Taken together, the changes move in different directions. The current draft puts buildings much farther from neighbors and sensitive uses, but uses the county's general industrial noise limit in place of the lower thresholds the earlier draft proposed. When residents and officials review the November package, the setbacks and the noise limit will need to be read together.
How the County Got Here
The county's data center information page lays out a process that has run for most of 2026:
- March 23: Special meeting and public comment.
- May 18: Public hearing on a moratorium.
- June 15: Approval of the six-month moratorium.
- Aug. 6 and Aug. 11: Public input sessions in Stedman and Hope Mills.
- Sept. 15 and Oct. 20: Joint Planning Board meetings.
- November 2026: Public hearing and final consideration, as listed on the county page.
BizFayetteville reported in July that the county announced the two August community input sessions. The first was at Stedman Baptist Church on Aug. 6 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and the second at the J.D. Pone Recreation Center in Hope Mills on Aug. 11. The sessions had discussion stations on water, power, noise, air quality, land use and zoning, environmental considerations and economic impacts. Comments were to be compiled into a report for the Joint Planning Board and the Board of Commissioners. BizFayetteville noted that the sessions were separate from actions by other local governments.
According to the county's data center page, which summarizes its public input survey and sessions, the common themes were:
- water and electrical capacity
- location and compatibility with nearby uses
- noise
- environmental protection
- transparency, monitoring and enforcement
The draft's provisions track several of those themes. The location limits and setbacks address compatibility, the noise and generator-testing provisions address noise, and the water and electricity provisions address utility capacity. Howard's description of pre-construction noise certification and complaint-triggered sound studies bears on the enforcement theme.
Fayetteville Is Writing Its Own Rules
The county ordinance does not cover the City of Fayetteville. CityView reports that Fayetteville approved its own ordinance on the Monday before CityView's Oct. 30 story, treating data centers like warehouses, and that the city plans a public hearing on a moratorium.
That leaves two different approaches in the same county. In the unincorporated areas and Eastover, the draft would limit data centers to manufacturing-zoned land, require commissioner approval, and set specific setback and noise requirements. Inside Fayetteville, the city's ordinance regulates them as warehouses. Developers, utilities and residents near the city-county line may need to check which jurisdiction a given parcel falls under.
What Happens Next
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to consider the draft data center ordinance on Nov. 12, according to county staff quoted by CityView, with a final vote on track for December. The county's data center page lists "Nov. 2026: Public Hearing/final consideration" as the next step. The county's six-month moratorium expires Dec. 15. Separately, CityView reports that the City of Fayetteville plans a public hearing on a moratorium of its own.
