Pulaski County officials will vote Tuesday evening on whether to override County Judge Barry Hyde’s veto of an ordinance that would set a new permitting process for data center development in unincorporated parts of the county.
What the ordinance would require
The Quorum Court approved the ordinance on Sept. 22 by an 11-4 vote. The measure would require developers to submit detailed information to county officials on items including water use, noise and electricity demand before receiving county approval. Hyde vetoed the ordinance three days later, saying in a letter he was not opposed to reasonable regulations but that the measure could not be implemented without exposing the county to “unnecessary legal and financial risk.”
- The Quorum Court originally approved the ordinance 11-4, giving supporters enough votes to reach the nine-vote threshold needed to override the veto.
- The ordinance was drafted amid debate over a proposed $6 billion data center development by AVAIO Digital Partners near Wrightsville in unincorporated Pulaski County.
- Supporters, including the ordinance’s sponsor Justice of the Peace Julie Blackwood, asked the court’s agenda committee to place an override vote on Tuesday’s meeting.
Who is pushing and who opposes
Retired Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen, who defeated Hyde in the Democratic primary in March and is the party’s nominee for county judge, helped draft the ordinance and has urged residents to contact their justices of the peace to support an override. In a social media post, Griffen wrote:
“Our neighbors deserve protections, timely answers, and a meaningful voice before development decisions create consequences they may live with for decades.” — Wendell Griffen
Michael Rushin, the Republican nominee for county judge, publicly supported Hyde’s exercise of the veto, arguing at the time that the ordinance risked putting the county in legal jeopardy. Hyde has served as county judge since 2015 and will leave office in a little over two months after losing the Democratic primary to Griffen.
Background: the proposed development
The discussion over local regulation has unfolded as AVAIO Digital Partners, a Connecticut-based company, seeks to build a proposed $6 billion data center complex in an unincorporated area near Wrightsville. County officials have debated for months how to address potential impacts from large-scale data centers, including their demands for electricity and water and potential noise or traffic effects on nearby communities.
If the Quorum Court votes to override Hyde’s veto, the ordinance would become law. An override requires nine affirmative votes; supporters held an 11-4 margin when the ordinance first passed.
Tuesday’s meeting will determine whether the county moves forward with the new permitting requirements for data center projects or whether Hyde’s veto will stand.
