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Greensboro City Council spent nearly an hour discussing data centers on Tuesday night. After residents pressed for a moratorium on data center construction, District 1 Councillor Crystal Black made a motion to pass one. It failed. 

In the divisive conversation and vote following Black’s motion, five of the nine council members voiced their opposition to a moratorium: 

• Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter
• Mayor Pro Tem Denise Roth
• At-Large Councillor Hugh Holston
• District 4 Councillor Adam Marshall
• District 5 Councillor Tammi Thurm

 

Four councillors voted in favor of a moratorium: 

• At-Large Councillor Irving Allen 
• District 1 Councillor Crystal Black
• District 2 Councillor Cecile Crawford
• District 3 Councillor April Parker

Read the full recap on the Battleground Drafts Substack.

A homeless encampment sweep apparently occurred between 9:30 and 10:30 this morning, July 21. Greensboro city employees, including police, were spotted near 612 West Gate City Blvd beside “The Pregnancy Network” building with a large truck and multiple police vehicles.

The encampment had been set up at this location for approximately a month. It was dismantled with a grappling truck, normally used for disposing of heavy refuse and garbage. Personal property that was thrown away included tarps, bikes, tents, and containers, likely containing clothing, food, and other personal items.

It remains unclear as of yet if this encampment sweep was brought on by complaints from local businesses or residents, or if city government has enacted a new policy.

Follow Battleground Drafts for updates.

Concern over data centers continues to dominate local government forums. Data centers use increasing amounts of land, electricity, and water. Residents are seeing unprecedented electricity rate hikes and levels of drought in North Carolina, at the same time data centers are proliferating.

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein has said data centers are partially to blame for rising energy prices, stating they account for about 80 percent of additional demand Duke Energy expects. Data centers also pollute environments with toxic waste, light, noise, and heat. Research shows data centers raise surrounding temperatures by 4 degrees, and use as much water as entire towns.

In North Carolina, half a dozen towns along with six counties have declared moratoria on data center construction. Greensboro has not, and the position of city councillors on data centers is unclear.

In response to speaker Del Stone at the last city council meeting, five councillors commented on the concerns raised. Read their responses here

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