Elliott County Fiscal Court unanimously advances two-year data center moratorium

SANDY HOOK, Ky. — The Elliott County Fiscal Court voted unanimously Tuesday evening to approve the first reading of a proposed two-year moratorium on data center development, moving the measure one step closer to final approval.

The vote was 7-0, according to the resolution released following the Oct. 6 special meeting.

Elliott County Judge-Executive Myron S. Lewis announced Wednesday morning that the second reading, which will include an opportunity for public comment, is scheduled for Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. at the Elliott County Courthouse.

The proposed moratorium comes after Lewis said he recently learned that property in Elliott County is owned by a company that identifies itself online as being affiliated with data center development.

Lewis has stressed that county officials have not announced that a data center is definitely coming to Elliott County. Instead, he said the possibility prompted him to begin looking at ways the county could establish protections before any such development could move forward.

Under the resolution given its first reading Tuesday, Elliott County would impose a moratorium on the acceptance, processing or approval of applications for the construction or development of any data center within the unincorporated areas of the county.

If ultimately enacted as written, the moratorium would remain in place for two years, unless the Fiscal Court later votes to repeal or extend it.

The resolution defines a data center as a facility or group of facilities primarily used to house computer servers, data storage systems, networking equipment or similar high-density computing infrastructure.

Ordinary server rooms and information technology systems that are incidental to the primary use of governmental, commercial, educational, healthcare or industrial facilities would not fall under the definition.

The resolution states that Elliott County would use the moratorium period to develop regulations addressing potential impacts of large-scale data center development.

Among the issues specifically identified are:

County officials cited the growing interest in data center construction across Kentucky and the significant demands such facilities can potentially place on electricity, water, transportation and other infrastructure.

The resolution states that the Fiscal Court believes temporary restrictions are necessary so appropriate local safeguards can be established before development occurs.

One of the issues Lewis has repeatedly emphasized is that Elliott County does not have a Planning and Zoning Commission.

In a statement before Tuesday's meeting, Lewis said that without action by the Fiscal Court, the county currently has few local mechanisms in place to regulate where a large development could locate or what conditions could be placed upon it.

Lewis said that concern is what prompted him to begin pursuing a moratorium shortly after learning of the possible interest in the county.

He said he first received the information on Sept. 30 while out of town with his family. Lewis said he contacted the magistrate representing the area, as well as State Rep. Richard White, to determine whether any statewide restrictions were being considered.

After learning that any action by the Kentucky General Assembly would have to wait until lawmakers return to Frankfort, Lewis began exploring what Elliott County could do locally.

He later obtained a moratorium used by another Kentucky county and adapted it for Elliott County before forwarding it to the county attorney and magistrates for review.

Lewis has also pushed back against social media claims suggesting county officials were secretly working with a data center company.

He said no representative of a data center company has contacted him, and that he has not signed a nondisclosure agreement concerning a potential project.

Lewis also said there have been no closed-session discussions involving him and a data center proposal.

After contacting the Elliott County Property Valuation Administrator's office on Oct. 5, Lewis said he determined that the property in question is owned by a company that says online that it is affiliated with data center development.

Neither the company nor the location of the property has been publicly identified in the information released by Lewis.

He said that information was provided to the county attorney and magistrates so they could conduct their own research.

Lewis has characterized the proposed moratorium not as opposition to all data center development, but as an effort to make sure regulations are in place before a project is allowed to proceed.

Tuesday's vote was only the first reading of the measure.

The Elliott County Fiscal Court will take up the proposal again during its Oct. 27 meeting at 6 p.m. at the Elliott County Courthouse. Lewis said public comment will be accepted during that meeting.

If the measure receives final approval, the county would then have the proposed two-year period to develop more permanent rules governing data centers and their potential impacts.

The resolution approved on first reading was signed by Lewis and Elliott County Fiscal Court Clerk Shyanna Jenkins and records the Fiscal Court's vote as seven in favor and none opposed.

The Morehead Minute will continue following the proposal and will report the outcome of the Oct. 27 second reading.