Imposes a 155-calendar-day moratorium, applying in all zoning districts in unincorporated Chatham County, on covered data-center development and conversions.

During the moratorium, the County may not accept, process, or approve applications to construct a new data center or expand an existing facility to an electrical capacity of 10 megawatts or greater.

During the moratorium, the County may not accept, process, or approve applications to convert any warehouse or large industrial building of 200,000 square feet or more into a data center, regardless of the facility’s electrical capacity.

Applications covered by the moratorium that were pending when it took effect must be held in abeyance until the moratorium expires or ends earlier, although their filing dates are preserved.

Projects may not be structured, divided, phased, or otherwise arranged to evade the thresholds; related facilities may be treated as one project when they share ownership or control, are within 1,000 feet, share infrastructure, were planned or financed together, or have an aggregate capacity of at least 10 megawatts.

The moratorium may be extended once for up to 60 additional calendar days if the required study is incomplete and the continued moratorium remains necessary; the total duration may not exceed 215 calendar days.

Exceptions require a written application and clear and convincing evidence of all specified conditions, including financially secured infrastructure improvements, compliance with existing standards, proof that denial would eliminate all economically viable property use, consistency with public health and safety, and— for conversions—professional-engineer certification of structural and mechanical adequacy.

The vested-rights exceptions are limited to projects with qualifying permits or certain preexisting conversion agreements made before the effective date, substantial good-faith expenditures, and a written claim filed within 30 calendar days.

Data centers with an electrical capacity below 10 megawatts are exempt from the moratorium and may be developed or expanded, subject to otherwise applicable regulations.

Existing data centers below 10 megawatts may continue operating and may perform routine maintenance, repairs, interior modifications, and equipment replacements, provided the work does not increase capacity to 10 megawatts or more.

Data center operations already lawfully existing in a warehouse or large industrial building may continue operating if they do not expand their floor area or electrical capacity.

A limited exception may be granted by the County Manager when the applicant provides binding, financially secured commitments to fully mitigate infrastructure impacts, complies with applicable standards, proves that denial would deprive the property of all economically viable use, and demonstrates consistency with public health, safety, and welfare requirements.

Applicants denied an exception may appeal to the Board of Commissioners within 30 calendar days, with a public hearing required within 45 days.

Projects with a valid building permit issued before the effective date and substantial good-faith expenditures made in reliance on that permit are protected from the moratorium.

Warehouse or large industrial building conversions with a pre-effective-date building permit or change-of-occupancy permit and substantial reliance expenditures are protected from the moratorium.

A conversion of an occupied warehouse or large industrial building is protected if, before the effective date, the owner or operator executed a binding lease termination agreement, development agreement, or conversion contract and made substantial expenditures in reliance on it and on the prior zoning rules.

The moratorium is temporary: it lasts 155 days, may be extended only once for up to 60 additional days, and cannot exceed 215 days in total.