What local government did, 2–8 August

Durham County's commissioners spent most of their 3 August work session telling staff what they wanted in a draft moratorium on new and expanded data centers, data processing facilities and cryptocurrency mining. Staff said the county's development ordinance carries no definition for any of it, and asked for time to study what such uses do to infrastructure, the environment and utility bills before writing rules. A hearing was penciled in for 24 August.

That session turns out to be the start of something regional. Durham held its hearing on the 24th. Cary adopted an 18-month moratorium of its own on the 27th, unanimously, on the same reasoning — a use its ordinance does not define. Morrisville's council took a state and regional briefing the same evening. Holly Springs was already a month into its own 12-month pause. Four governments, four weeks, and no application pending in any of them.

Chatham County's commissioners called a special session on the 5th for one purpose: two hours of public comment on Enbridge Gas's proposed 28-mile natural gas expansion through the county. Two minutes a speaker, sign up in advance, written comment accepted — a format built to get a large number of residents heard on a single project. No vote was taken on the pipeline that night.

Garner accepted a federal Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership grant of just under $6.3 million on the 4th. Wake Forest swore in a new commissioner and previewed six items ahead of a formal vote. Cary's parks board reviewed two rezonings for what they would mean for greenways, both of which reached its Planning and Zoning Board three weeks later. And Garner's nominations committee interviewed five candidates for its boards, which is how most of these seats actually get filled.

18 boards met across 12 governments, with 100 agenda items on file.

Written when 24 of this week's meetings had posted an agenda; 20 have now. The counts below are current.