* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] IT IS TWO [1. CALL TO ORDER] O'CLOCK ACCORDING TO THE CLOCK. UM, WE'RE GONNA CALL THE NATURAL RESOURCE COMMITTEE MEETING. LET'S SEE. ANYBODY ON ZOOM AT THIS TIME? NO, SIR. OKAY. UH, WE DO HAVE A QUORUM. UM, AND PRESENT TODAY IS MRS. HOWARD CHAIRPERSON, UH, MR. JOHNSON. UM, MR. PASSMAN, UH, THAT MAKE UP THE QUORUM FOR THE COUNCIL, UH, FOR THE COMMITTEE. AND THEN, UM, IN ADDITION, DO WE HAVE MR. PATHOLO AND MR. RES, UH, AS JOINING THIS COMMITTEE, IF YOU WOULD RISE WITH ME, JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE. ALLEGIANCE TO OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE. WE DO HAVE A SHORT AGENDA, UM, AND, UM, WE ARE NOT GONNA PROLONG IT JUST BECAUSE IT'S SHORT, SO WE CAN KEEP YOU HERE FOR TWO HOURS, . SO WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THAT. UM, THE STATEMENT OF A COMPLIANCE OF, UM, THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN TAKEN CARE OF, MS. BROCKS? YES, SIR, IT HAS. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO [4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA] APPROVE THE AGENDA AS OUTLINED. I MOVED SECOND. OKAY. IT'S BEEN PROPERLY MOTIONED BY MR. PASSMAN. IS SECONDED BY MR. DAWSON. UH, ANY QUESTION? THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HAND. IT IS UNANIMOUS. THANK YOU. AND THEN WE'LL DO THE MINUTES LIKEWISE [5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES] FOR THE AUGUST 3RD, 2026 MEETING. SO MOVED. MR. PASSMAN. I'LL SECOND MRS. UH, HOWARD IS SECONDED. UM, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HANDS AND AGAIN, IS UNANIMOUS. UH, WE DOWN TO THE PUBLIC COMMENTS AT THIS TIME. I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT, UH, EVERYBODY WANTS TO GET OUT EARLY, SO WE HAVE NO ONE TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY, WE'LL MOVE THE AGENDA, UM, TO NUMBER SEVEN, [7. ASSISTANT COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT] THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT WOULD, WHO'S THAT COMING FROM? DON'T ALL OF YOU JUMP UP AT ONE TIME? YEAH. LARRY'S ON. DO YOU SEE LARRY? WHO'S A MR. DI LARRY'S ON? YEAH. UM, MR. UM, JUST, WELL WANT ANNOUNCE THAT MR. MCALLEN IS ON ZOOM AT THIS TIME, THOUGH. OKAY. GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. CHAIR AND COMMITTEE. GOOD TO BE WITH YOU THIS AFTERNOON. UM, I HAVE UP HERE, MR. NT, OUR PLANNING DIRECTOR, TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE, UM, THE EDITS TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OR THE AMENDMENTS, THE REVIEW THAT WE'RE DOING AS REQUIRED BY STATE LAW. WE HAVE SOME, SOME SCHEDULING AND SOME SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSION FOR YOU TODAY. SO, MR. MERCHANT'S HERE. OKAY. WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD, GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON. I WANTED TO GIVE A REAL QUICK, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE BEAUFORT COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. AND THE CON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IS A DOCUMENT THAT REALLY OUTLINES THE VISION FOR THE, THE COUNTY AND PROVIDES A ROADMAP OF HOW, HOW WE CAN GET THERE THROUGH A SERIES OF RECOMMENDATIONS, POLICIES. IT DIVES INTO THE BACKGROUND OF EACH SUBJECT AND THEN, UM, PROVIDES RECOMMENDATIONS. AND IT ALSO HAS A VERY STRONG PUBLIC COMPONENT. SO IT, IT'S MEANT TO REALLY BE A MEASURE OF THE, THE COMMUNITY'S VISION FOR THE COUNTY. THE STATE HAS ENABLING LEGISLATION FOR PLANNING AND FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. WE'RE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, SOUTH CAROLINA IS ACTUALLY PRETTY, UM, THE VERY STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. SO THEY REQUIRE THAT COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE ZONING HAVE TO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. SO THAT'S ONE THING. A LOT OF COMMUNITIES IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE ONE AND, BUT STILL HAVE A ZONING ORDINANCE. BUT IT ALSO SAYS VERY SPECIFICALLY THAT A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, UH, NEEDS TO BE KIND OF UPDATED AND REWRITTEN EVERY 10 YEARS, BUT EVERY FIVE YEARS, IF NOT SOONER, HAVE A REVIEW AND KIND OF A, YOU KNOW, A LOOK AT THE, THE PLAN, KIND OF SEE WHETHER IT'S STILL WORKING OR WHETHER A FEW THINGS NEED TO BE CHANGED HERE OR THERE, OR EVALUATION OF THE SUCCESS OF IMPLEMENTING IT IN, IN THE PERIOD. SO WE'RE IN THAT TIMEFRAME. THE, THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE WAS ADOPTED IN NOVEMBER OF 2021. SO WE'RE FIVE YEARS OUT. IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE. IT JUST SEEMS LIKE WASN'T TOO LONG AGO WHEN IT WAS ADOPTED. SO WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING OVER THE LAST YEAR, WE STARTED, WELL, FOR ONE THING, OUR PLANNING COMMISSION WAS VERY ADAMANT, UH, THAT WITH THIS PLAN THAT WE PROVIDE PERIODIC UPDATES TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION. SO [00:05:01] WE CREATED A SPREADSHEET OF ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS. AND THEN OVER, YOU KNOW, LIKE TWO YEAR PERIODS WITHIN THIS LAST FIVE YEARS, WE PROVIDED THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH AN UPDATE OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS OR STATUS OF DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE PLAN. GAVE 'EM A, A SPREADSHEET OF, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ONGOING IMPLEMENTATION OR THINGS THAT HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN COMPLETED. SO WE UPDATED THAT. ONCE AGAIN, WE REACHED OUT TO ALL THE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE COUNTY AND AGENCIES INVOLVED IN IMPLEMENTING IT. UH, WE THEN HELD A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS WITH OUR PLANNING COMMISSION. THEY'RE THE, ULTIMATELY THE AUTHORS OF THE PLAN. THEY'RE THE ONES WHO PRESENT IT TO COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION. SO WE HAD A NUMBER OF MEETINGS FOCUSING ON EACH OF THE CHAPTERS OF THE PLAN. UM, AND FROM THAT POINT, LAST SPRING, WE HAD A SERIES OF PUBLIC WORKSHOPS, UH, I THINK ON JUNE 11TH AND JUNE 18TH. AND THEN WE HAD ONLINE ENGAGEMENT MEANT, YOU KNOW, REALIZING THAT NOT EVERYONE WOULD BE ABLE TO SHOW UP TO A WORKSHOP. SO WE HAD ONLINE ENGAGEMENT. WE GOT ABOUT 257 RESPONSES, AND WE'RE NOW IN THE NEXT, WE HAVE A, ANOTHER ENGAGEMENT THAT IS MORE OF A MAPPING EXERCISE, UM, THAT JUST WENT LIVE ON FRIDAY. SO IF YOU GO TO THE COUNTY'S WEBPAGE AND SCROLL TO THE NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS, THERE'S A LINK TO IT THERE. BUT WE'RE ASKING THE PUBLIC TO GO ON THERE AND REALLY KIND OF FOCUS IN ON THE ISSUE OF LAND USE, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES. SO OUR GOAL IS ONCE WE RECEIVE ALL THIS INPUT, THAT THING WILL BE LIVE FOR ABOUT THREE WEEKS. WE'RE GONNA TAKE THAT, PROVIDE A REPORT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, EVALUATING ALL THE PUBLIC INPUT, ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS. WE'RE NOT FOCUSING ON BIG CHANGES, BUT WE'RE FOCUSING ON THINGS TO UPDATE THE PLAN. EVEN WITHIN A FIVE YEAR PERIOD, IT MAKES REFERENCES TO AGENCIES THAT NO LONGER EXIST. YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD DEPARTMENT NAME CHANGES WITHIN THE STATE, SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE ADDRESS ALL OF THOSE. IF THERE IS AN ITEM THAT WE RECOMMEND AND WE ACTUALLY COMPLETE IT, AND THERE'S NO FURTHER FOLLOW UP, WE MAY SAY TO, YOU KNOW, ONGOING IMPLEMENTATION OF A PLAN THAT WAS ALREADY ADOPTED THAT IT CALLED FOR. SO UPDATING IT TO MAKE IT STILL A USEFUL DOCUMENT TO, TO, UM, YOU KNOW, SERVE THE COUNTY OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. SO WE WANNA HAVE A REPORT WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS. WE ALSO, WITH THE PUBLIC INPUT, ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT WE'RE ASKING THE PUBLIC TO DO IS TO PROVIDE A PRIORITIZATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE IN THE PLAN OF WHAT THINGS ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO THEM, TO REALLY SEND A MESSAGE OF WHAT WE WANT TO FOCUS ON OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. AND THEN ALSO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO WRITE ANY COMMENT, YOU KNOW, BOTH THE PEOPLE WHO SHOWED UP AT THE WORKSHOP OR ONLINE. SO WE'LL HAVE AN INTERESTING CROSS-SECTION OF PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, IDEAS. AND SOME MAY OR MAY NOT BE IN THE PLAN. ONE OF THE THINGS, TO BE HONEST, THAT'S COMING UP LATER IN THIS AGENDA, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD COMMENTS ON DATA CENTERS. SO, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S CERTAINLY THINGS THAT WE COULD NOT, WE DIDN'T QUITE CONCEIVE FIVE YEARS AGO THAT ARE, THAT ARE COMING UP. SO WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO DO, WE'RE GONNA GO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND IT AT THEIR NOVEMBER MEETING. AND, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON THEIR ACTION AND, AND HOW THEY WANNA MOVE THIS FORWARD, WE WILL THEN BE TAKING THAT TO COUNCIL. SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE. WE JUST WANTED TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT THERE TO GO ON THE COUNTY'S WEBPAGE. THERE'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC INPUT. AND WITH THAT, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, MR. MERCHANT, THANK YOU. ANY QUESTION OF MR. I HAD A QUESTION TO COMMENT. UM, HOW DO WE GET THAT MESSAGE OUT? YOU SAID IT'S ON THE WEBSITE, SO IF YOU GO TO, TO THE INITIAL PAGE, YOU HAVE TO SCROLL DOWN TO NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND THEN IT SHOWS BEAUFORT COUNTY SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON FUTURE LAND USE AND GROWTH. MM-HMM . A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE OUR WEBSITE. SO HOW DO WE GET THE WORD OUT? UH, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. UM, I, I THINK WE CAN WORK WITH OUR PIO TO DO A SPECIAL KIND OF ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THAT TO FURTHER PUBLICIZE IT. I MEAN, IT HAS BEEN, WE HAD IT AN ACTIVE CYCLE EARLIER, BUT THIS IS AN ADDITIONAL ONE, UM, SEEKING SPECIFIC TYPE OF COMMENTS AS MR. MERCHANT MENTIONED. SO I DO THINK IT WOULD BE WORTH, UM, PRIORITIZING IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATIONS AS WELL. OKAY. AND THE SECOND PART OF THAT, ONCE WE GET THE WORD OUT, AND YOU SAID IT'S GONNA BE LIKE THREE WEEKS MM-HMM . SO WE WANT TO GET IT STARTED AS SOON AS WE CAN. WHAT IS YOUR TIMELINE TO GET INFORMATION BACK TO THIS COUNCIL? 'CAUSE THIS COUNCIL CHANGES JANUARY 1ST. MM-HMM . SO THE ITEM GOES TO THE NOVEMBER PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. SO [00:10:02] IT WOULD BE DECEMBER, NRC IF WE, I THINK WE PLANNING ON HAVING THAT MEETING HERE IN DECEMBER, AND THEN IT WOULD GO TO COUNCIL BEGINNING OF JANUARY. WE COULD ADOPT IT BY RESOLUTION, IS SOMETHING WE'VE DISCUSSED. AND THEN THE ACTUAL SUBSTANTIVE AMENDMENTS WOULD BE DONE, UM, BY ORDINANCE THROUGH COUNCIL AT A LATER TIME. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND YOU WANNA MAKE COMMENTS? YES, PLEASE. YES. UM, I JUST WANTED TO LET THE COMMITTEE KNOW AS WELL. WE DID SEND OUT BOTH SURVEYS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS THROUGH OUR EMAIL LISTSERV. WE HAVE THAT NOTICE THAT'S POSTED ONTO THE WEBSITE, IT WAS POSTED ONTO SOCIAL MEDIA. AND THEN OUR PIO JUST LET US KNOW, UM, THAT THE POST AND COURIER WILL BE RUNNING A STORY ON THIS NEW SURVEY THIS WEEK. GREAT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTION? NO. OH, OKAY. THIS IS, I MEAN, THE COMP PLAN FOR ME IS A BIG THING. SO, UM, UM, I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN GET A LOT OF INPUT, UM, AND LIKE MR. PASSMAN SAID, TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT SO FOLKS CAN ACTUALLY DO SO, UM, NOT LOOKING FOR ANY MAJOR CHANGE, AND I'M ASSUMING THAT IF THERE IS ANY MAJOR CHANGE, YOU WILL ALARM US AND LET US KNOW THAT THERE ARE MAJOR CHANGES HAPPENING IN PARTICULAR AREAS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. UM, UM, SO I WANNA SAY, UH, THANK YOU AND ROB, YOU, MR. MER WOULDN'T SAY ANYTHING ELSE, OR YOU GOOD. I WAS GONNA SAY THAT THE, UH, ANY MAJOR CHANGE WOULD COME TO THIS COUNCIL. SO , YOU KNOW, NOTHING WOULD, UH, OCCUR WITHOUT YOUR ACTION. SO, YEAH. APPRECIATE THAT. YEAH, APPRECIATE KNOWING THAT. YEAH. OUR, OUR GOAL, WE SEE IT AS, YOU KNOW, UPDATING THE PLAN AND ALSO AN EVALUATION. HOW IS IT WORKING? HOW HAVE WE BEEN, YOU KNOW, HAS IT BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN IMPLEMENTATION? THAT TYPE OF THING. COULD YOU DO ME A FAVOR? UH, DO US A FAVOR. UM, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU START NOTING AND EVALUATE YOUR, THE PLAN ITSELF, ITEMS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ADDRESSED, UH, EFFECTIVELY BY COUNCIL, COULD YOU NOTE THAT TO SAY, HEY, UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN HERE AND COUNSEL JUST IGNORE OR IS NOT DEALING WITH IT? YEAH, WE, WE CAN DO THAT. AND I WILL SAY, I DON'T THINK IT'S OUT OF NEGLECT. SOME THINGS ARE HARDER TO DO THAN OTHERS. AND SO, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SO THAT IT MAY AFFECT HOW WE PRIORITIZE AND SURE. ATTACH A TIMELINE TO THE IMPLEMENTATION. GOOD. SO, UM, OKAY. BUT YES, WE'LL DEFINITELY, UH, OKAY. PROVIDE YOU WITH THE STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION, SO, OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY, NO, NO FURTHER QUESTIONS. WE THANK YOU. AND MR. MERCHANT, UM, UH, WE, WE, BOTH OF YOU, ALL THREE OF YOU, UM, WE ARE GONNA DEAL [8.a. Data Center Regulation Approaches and Options (FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact.) - Juliana Zadik, Rob Merchant, Dylan Kidd] WITH THE DATA CENTER WHO'S COMING UP FIRST? UM, LET'S SEE. WE DON'T NEED A MOTION AT THIS TIME. UH, IT IS JUST A PRESENTATION, RIGHT? THERE'S GONNA BE NO ACTION TAKEN. RIGHT. WELL, THERE MAY BE SOME ACTION. I'M NOT TOO SURE, BUT I'M, WE'LL SEE. GO AHEAD. SO, UM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR DIRECTION TODAY ULTIMATELY, AS TO WHAT TO BRING BACK IN TERMS OF A SUBSTANTIVE ORDINANCE OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE. UM, FIRST TO BE TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, AND THEN TO COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL ULTIMATELY. UM, SO TODAY, AS YOU'LL RECALL FROM THE LAST MEETING, WE HAD A DISCUSSION REGARDING DATA CENTERS. AND WHAT THIS COMMITTEE ASKED US TO DO WAS TO GO BACK AND GATHER SOME INFORMATION AND SOME OPTIONS ABOUT WHAT POTENTIAL REGULATION OF THE LAND USE MIGHT LOOK LIKE, UM, WITHIN UNINCORPORATED BEAUFORT COUNTY. WE HAVE DONE THAT, AND WE ARE BRINGING YOU BACK SOME INFORMATION AND SOME OPTIONS TODAY. UM, SO I'M GONNA JUST SET THE TABLE HERE A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN ROB MERCHANT IS GONNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE PROCESS OF THESE CHANGES AND WHAT FORM THAT WOULD TAKE. UM, AND THEN JULIANA'S GONNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOME SPECIFIC REGULATORY OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE'VE SEEN FROM OTHER AREAS, UM, THAT MAY BE WORTH CONSIDERING FOR ANYTHING WE DO SUBSTANTIVELY. UM, SO THE FIRST THING IS WE, WE HAVE WHAT WE'RE GONNA REFER TO AS ESSENTIALLY FOUR OPTIONS FOR YOU TODAY. UH, THEY RANGE FROM AN, A COMPLETE AND TOTAL BAN OF THE USE WITHIN THE UNINCORPORATED COUNTY TO REGULATION OF SPECIFIC ASPECTS, UM, OR HAVING SPECIFIC, UH, PROCESSES IN PLACE FOR DATA CENTERS IN ORDER TO MOVE FORWARD. UM, THERE IS THE OPTION OF TAKING NO ACTION AT ALL. AND THEN THERE IS THE OPTION OF A, UH, MORATORIUM, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT ROB WILL TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT OTHER JURISDICTIONS HAVE UTILIZED, UM, TO ALLOW THEIR STAFF AND, AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS TO STUDY THIS, AND WHAT IS A DYNAMIC AND RAPIDLY CHANGING ENVIRONMENT AS WE KIND OF GRAPPLE WITH THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR LAND USE. UM, SO WITHIN THAT, UM, AS I MENTIONED, ROB WILL TALK TO YOU ABOUT HOW THE PROCESS AND HOW THAT WILL LOOK. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WILL BE A, HOPEFULLY A PUBLIC INPUT COMPONENT TO THIS AS WELL. UM, AND WE'LL AT THE END OF THIS, WE'LL HOPE TO HAVE SOME DIRECTION AS TO WHICH ROUTE, UM, YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE AT THIS TIME AND POTENTIALLY IN THE FUTURE, UM, WHERE YOU WANT US TO LOOK [00:15:01] AT SOME ADDITIONAL POTENTIAL REGULATORY STEPS. UM, AND, AND THE TIMELINE FOR GETTING THAT BACK TO YOU ALL, BECAUSE EVEN IF YOU WENT WITH A MOR MORATORIUM, THERE ARE SOME RESTRICTIONS ON THAT IN TERMS OF A, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A TIME LENGTH, UH, THERE'S TIME COMPONENT TO IT. UM, SO IT HAS TO BE TIME LIMITED. UM, SO AFTER, UH, AS, AS ROB AND JULIANA PRESENT TO YOU AS WELL, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO A GOOD, UH, DISCUSSION TODAY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO I GUESS THE FIRST THING I WOULD SAY IS THE ORDINANCE THAT WOULD BE BEST SUITED TO GOVERN DATA CENTERS IF COUNCIL CHOOSES TO MAKE CHANGES WOULD BE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CODE OR ZONING ORDINANCE. I MEAN, IT ALREADY GOVERNS USE LOCATION AND THAT TYPE OF THING. AND SO REALLY ANY ACTION THAT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THE COUNTY TAKES ACTION WOULD MOST LIKELY RESULT IN AMENDMENT TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CODE. AND SO THAT PROCESS WOULD MEAN, YOU KNOW, GOING TO FIRST STAFF, THEN PLANNING COMMISSION, AND THEN ULTIMATELY TO THIS COMMITTEE, AND THEN COUNCIL FOR THREE READINGS. SO THAT'S GENERALLY THE PROCESS OF ADOPTING THE ORDINANCE. WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO US, AND THIS IS I THINK WHY YOU MAY HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT MORATORIUMS, AND I'LL GET TO THAT AT THE END, BUT THERE ARE, THERE ARE SEVERAL OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THE COUNTY. YOU KNOW, THE FIRST ONE WOULD BE BANNING THE USE ENTIRELY, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS, OR, YOU KNOW, SOME VARIATION OF THAT WHERE YOU'RE SAYING OVER A CERTAIN SIZE OR, YOU KNOW, SOME CONDITIONS OR, YOU KNOW, BUT IT WOULD BASICALLY BE KIND OF A STRAIGHTFORWARD BANNING OF, OF, OF DATA CENTERS. THE SECOND WOULD BE, AND THIS IS A RATHER BROAD OPTION, AND ANOTHER REASON WHY HAVING MORE TIME TO KINDA LOOK AT THE, ALL THE ISSUES RELATED TO DATA CENTERS WOULD BE TO DEVELOP REGULATIONS TO ALLOW IT, BUT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, AND THERE'S DIFFERENT FORMS THAT THIS CAN TAKE. ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THIS IS THAT THIS ALSO THROWS IN A LOT OF PUBLIC COMMENTS. SO, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU HAVE A PROCESS LIKE A SPECIAL USE THAT IMMEDIATELY, YOU KNOW, THROWS THIS A PROJECT TO A PUBLIC HEARING, BUT THERE ARE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THAT. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, AS THIS ISSUE WOULD BE CONSIDERED, YOU'D LOOK AT WHAT KIND OF OUTCOME, WHO ULTIMATELY WOULD BE BEST SUITED TO MAKE THE DECISION. SO WE HAVE A, IN OUR ORDINANCE, WE HAVE A CONDITIONAL USE. SO BASICALLY THAT IS, YOU KNOW, IT ALLOWS THE USE IN A DISTRICT, BUT THEN IT HAS A, A LIST OF MEASURABLE CONDITIONS. YOU KNOW, BUFFERS SHALL BE A HUNDRED FEET WIDE, THAT TYPE OF THING. BUT IT'S ULTIMATELY, UM, ADMINISTERED AT THE STAFF LEVEL. SO, YOU KNOW, THE, IT WAS, IT'S DEFINITELY FOR EASE OF SOMEBODY DEVELOPING IT AND, AND FOLLOWING THE LIST, BUT THE DECISION DOES NOT NECESSARILY MAKE ITS WAY TO A PUBLIC HEARING. WE ALSO HAVE A SPECIAL USE, WHICH IS TAKING THAT UP KIND OF A LEVEL. IT'S SAYING THAT THIS USE MAY BE APPROPRIATE IN THIS DISTRICT, BUT IT NEEDS TO MEET A SET OF CONDITIONS AND LOOK AT THE IMPACTS. AND THAT ELEVATES A DECISION TO THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS. THAT'S THE, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL APPOINTED BOARD THAT LOOKS AT VARIANCES AND SPECIAL USES. AND IT WOULD BE A DECISION MADE AT A PUBLIC HEARING. UM, A THIRD OPTION, AND THERE ARE PROBABLY OTHERS, IS SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T HAVE IN BUFORT COUNTY, BUT IT'S CALLED A FLOATING ZONE. AND THAT IS WHERE YOU SET UP A ZONING DISTRICT AND A SET OF CONDITIONS WITHIN THE DISTRICT. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY ON THE MAP YET. AND YOU WOULD EVEN SET UP THE KIND OF CRITERIA OF WHERE YOU WOULD PLOP. IF YOU THINK OF IT'S, IT'S A FLOATING WHAT PIECE OF LAND IT WOULD, OR AREA OF THE COUNTY IT WOULD APPLY TO. ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE KIND OF PRESCRIBED IN THE ORDINANCE, BUT ULTIMATELY THAT LEAVES A DECISION TO COUNSEL WHEN DECIDING WHERE THAT FLOATING ZONE OCCURS. AND I THINK THAT THAT MIGHT BE WHAT THEY'RE USING IN COLLETON COUNTY. I THOUGHT I READ SOME, I'M NOT SURE. BUT THAT, THAT, THAT'S ANOTHER TOOL AVAILABLE. UM, ONCE AGAIN, NOT SOMETHING WE'VE USED HERE. SO WE'D DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY. AND THEN, SO YOU HAVE BANNING USE ENTIRELY, ALLOWING IT WITH CONDITIONS. AND THEN THE THIRD IS BASICALLY NO ACTION. WE HAVE A ZONING ORDINANCE IN PLACE, YOU KNOW, AND SO WE WOULD BE USING THE EXISTING ORDINANCE. AND SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE THREE GENERAL OPTIONS OF THE COUNTY. AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A MORATORIUM, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A FOURTH OPTION. IT'S REALLY [00:20:01] A MEANS TO DECIDE WHICH ONE OF THESE OPTIONS THE COUNTY WANTS TO TAKE. AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WHAT TYPES OF ISSUES DOES THE COUNTY WANT TO ADDRESS? SO WHAT A, A MORATORIUM DOES IS IT WOULD TEMPORARILY OVER THE PERIOD OF TIME, NOT PERMIT THE USE THAT IS DEFINED IN THAT ORDINANCE. AND IT WOULD TYPICALLY, IT HAS A TIMEFRAME, SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S PERMANENT, AND THEN ALSO SOMETHING TO BE ACCOMPLISHED IN THAT TIMEFRAME. SO WHAT THAT DOES IS IT WOULD GIVE COUNTY COUNCIL AND STAFF TIME TO, YOU KNOW, EXPLORE THE ISSUE, LOOK AT THE BEST OPTIONS, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC HEARINGS, THAT TYPE OF THING TO REALLY GET, GET SAID ON, ON WHAT THE BEST POSSIBLE ACTION IS. SO THAT'S THE ADVANTAGE OF A MORATORIUM. AND THAT'S WHY IF YOU LOOK ACROSS THE STATE, A LOT OF OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE TAKING THAT OPTION KIND OF AS AN INTERIM STEP, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT, OF COURSE, YOU HAVE A GOAL AND YOU HAVE A TIMEFRAME THAT YOU'RE USING. ONE OF THE, SOME OF THE ADVANTAGES, AND I KIND OF MENTIONED THAT THERE'S A LOT OF ISSUES SURROUNDING DATA CENTERS. THE OTHER THING IS THAT THIS ISSUE IS VERY DYNAMIC. SO , IF I WERE MAKING, TALKING SIX MONTHS AGO, I PROB, YOU KNOW, THIS ISSUE IS REALLY BALLOONED IN, UH, IT'S, EVERYONE'S AWARE OF IT. NOW, SIX MONTHS AGO, WE MIGHT MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN ALL THE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF COMMUNITIES BEEN GRAPPLING IT WITH IT. WE CAN SEE WHAT OTHER AREAS ARE DOING. SO BUYING THAT TYING GIVES YOU MORE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT WHAT OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE DOING, WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS. THERE MIGHT BE SOME THAT WE'RE NOT AWARE OF AT THIS POINT. SO THAT'S AN ADVANTAGE. ANOTHER ONE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT AT THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL, THERE MIGHT BE CHANGES IN THAT. SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, MAKE A MORATORIUM A POPULAR OPTION. AND SO THAT'S BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, MORATORIUM IS YOUR, YOUR TOOL TO GIVE THE COUNTY ENOUGH TIME TO, YOU KNOW, FIND THE BEST OPTION AND THEN TO MOVE FORWARD WITH IT. AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE, IF THE COUNTY WERE TO GO WITH A MORATORIUM, THE BEST IT, IT STILL FOLLOWS LIKE AN ORDINANCE. SO IT WOULD HAVE TO GO TO STAFF PLANNING COMMISSION, THIS COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S FROM OUR RESEARCH, THAT'S THE, IT WOULD GO THE SAME PATH AS A, YOU KNOW, AMENDMENT TO THE CODE. AND WITH THAT, I WANTED TO, JULIANA'S GONNA SPEAK TO SOME OF THE SPECIFIC ISSUES, YOU KNOW, SURROUNDING DATA CENTERS THAT WOULD SHAPE, YOU KNOW, IF WE WERE TO COME UP WITH CONDITIONS. SO WE HAVE THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE. UM, GO AHEAD, I THINK, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. I CAN YOUR QUESTION, QUESTION FROM COUNCIL AND THEN WE, MR. TICK. ICK. YEP. MR. GLOVER. UM, SORRY, I MISSED THAT LAST PART. DID YOU SAY A MORATORIUM WOULD ALSO HAVE TO GO GO THROUGH THE SAME STEPS AS AS A BAN? YES. AND, AND I GUESS MY, MY OTHER QUESTION, IF WE WERE TO DO EITHER ONE OF THOSE, WOULD THE, IF WE DID A BAN, WOULD THE PENDING ORDINANCE DOCTRINE BE INVOKED AND GIVE US MORE TIME TO WORK ON IT INSTEAD OF A MORATORIUM? THAT'S HOW IT WORKS. WELL, I MEAN, I'M JUST, I MEAN, WE'VE INVOKED IT BEFORE IN THE PAST. YOU CAN, IT DOESN'T GIVE YOU MORE TIME TO THINK OF PENDING ORDINANCE JUST PUTS IT IN PLACE AT THE FIRST READING AS OPPOSED TO THE THIRD READING. SO IT'S PENDING LAW, BUT IT'S APPLICABLE AT THAT FIRST READING IS WHAT PENDING ORDINANCE IS THE MORATORIUM IS WHAT DELAYS TO GIVE YOU MORE TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT. RIGHT. NO, I GET THAT. BUT I BELIEVE WE'VE USED IT IN THE PAST TO NOT SET THE, THE REGULAR COURSE OF, OF, OF READINGS. YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE REGULAR COURSE OF READINGS, BUT YOU APPLY PENDING ORDINANCE AT THE FIRST OR SECOND READING, AND THEN THAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE THAT NIGHT. MS. BEMAN, UM, AT THIS POINT IN TIME, DO WE HAVE ANY ACTIVE APPLICATIONS FROM ANY ENTITY FOR DATA CENTERS IN BEAUFORD COUNTY? NO. OKAY. WE HAVE AN EXISTING ORDINANCE. I LIKE THE PROCESS OF HAVING US START AN ORDINANCE BECAUSE IF WE DO A MORATORIUM, THAT'S GOING TO TAKE EXTENDED TIME AND WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING PER SE. IF WE DO A BAND THAT'S GONNA TAKE TIME, WE HAVEN'T ACCOMPLISHED ANYTHING. BUT BY DOING AN ORDINANCE WHERE WE CAN SAY, AS WE START THIS ON FIRST READING, THIS IS WHAT WE WANT. THE STATE IS IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING LEGISLATION, THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN TILL JANUARY WHEN THEY START OVER AGAIN. THE [00:25:01] SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES WILL BE DISCUSSING THIS AT THEIR MEETING IN OCTOBER. 'CAUSE IT AFFECTS 46 COUNTIES. SO IT, I THINK IT, IT'S RIPE ON OUR BEHALF TO DIRECT YOU TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF UTILIZING WHAT IS OUT THERE, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY, THE INDIFFERENT, SO THAT WE HAVE A STARTING POINT. YES. I DON'T THINK WE'RE EVER GONNA STOP DATA CENTERS. I THINK WE HAVE TO PUT THE PROPER CONTROLS IN FOR THE ONES THAT WE WANT, WHERE WE WANT THEM, HOW WE WANT THEM, WHEN WE WANT THEM. AND I THINK THAT STARTS WITH YOU, US DIRECTING YOU. THIS IS WHAT WE WANT YOU TO DO. COULD, COULD, YEAH. LET ME, COULD I GET THE, UH, UH, AN OPINION ON WHAT MR. PASSMAN JUST SAID? I AGREE WITH HIM A HUNDRED PERCENT. BUT IF WE DON'T PUT A MORATORIUM, CAN SOMEONE, WHILE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PUTTING TOGETHER THE ORDINANCE, CAN SOMEONE ACTUALLY COME FORWARD AND THOUGHT A THREAT TO BRING ONE IN? I'M JUST WONDERING IF, YOU KNOW, DO THE MORATORIUM WOULD BASICALLY STOP ANYBODY FROM COMING, BUT IF WE DON'T DO THAT, CAN THEY STILL THEN THINK ABOUT COMING IN? AND THAT'S THE DANGER BY WAITING. THAT'S MY COMMENT. YEAH. I THINK THAT GOES TO THE PENDING THE, UH, PENDING ORDINANCE DISCUSSION AS WELL, WHICH IS THAT IF YOU INVOKE THAT AT FIRST READING, EITHER FOR THE BAN OR WHATEVER REGULATORY ACTION YOU'RE TAKING, OR THE MORATORIUM YOU COULD HAVE THAT TAKE EFFECT AT FIRST READING, IT'S A LOT HARDER TO, TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE SOMETHING LIKE THAT TAKE EFFECT BEFORE WE GET TO FIRST READING. UM, SO I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WE CAN DO BETWEEN NOW AND THE TIME OF FIRST READING, UM, BUT IF IT WERE A MORATORIUM OR A REGULATORY ACTION, YOU COULD IMPOSE PENDING ORDINANCE AT THAT TIME TO LIMIT THAT WINDOW. OKAY. OKAY. MS. HALL, I'M FAMILIAR WITH WHAT HAPPENED UP IN COLLEGE AND COUNTY, AND THEY, I THINK THAT'S WHY THEY HAVE A MORATORIUM NOW, BUT THEY WERE KIND OF CAUGHT OFF GUARD. THAT'S WHAT, UH, CONCERNS ME. I, WE DO STILL HAVE A FEW LARGE TRACKS OF LAND IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, AND I DON'T KNOW OF ANY LARGE TRACKS IN SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, BUT, UM, SO I WOULD, I THINK THE MORATORIUM MIGHT BE A REAL OPTION. UM, AND I DO AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN PASSMAN THAT WE'D STILL NEED THE ORDINANCE, BUT THEY WERE CAUGHT OFF GUARD IN COLLETON COUNTY. UM, THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS WERE NOT THEIR, UM, I THINK THEIR COMMISSION DID THE BEST THEY COULD WITH THE TOOLS THEY HAD AT THE TIME. BUT YEAH. HEY, YORK, HEY. UM, I'M SORRY, MR. MCALLEN, GO AHEAD, PLEASE. YEAH, I, I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, THIS IS REALLY A VERY IMPORTANT DISCUSSION, AND I THINK EVERYONE REALIZES THAT THESE FACILITIES WILL SERVE AS THE BACKBONE OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY. AND AT THE SAME TIME, THEIR PHYSICAL FOOTPRINT HAS MASSIVE LOCAL RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS. I THINK THE PRIMARY AREAS THAT WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT ARE RESOURCE CONSUMPTION, QUALITY OF LIFE, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT, AND ZONING INFRASTRUCTURE. I'M WONDERING IF WE COULD FOCUS ON THOSE ITEMS, NOT HERE TODAY, BUT AT A MEETING WHERE THERE ARE NO OTHER AGENDA ITEMS PENDING THAT WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT AND SIMPLY JUST DISCUSS THIS BECAUSE THE UTILITY AND RESOURCE CONSUMPTION, THE POWER GRID, THE WATER ALLOCATION, BACKUP GENERATORS, THE NEIGHBORHOOD QUALITY OF LIFE, THE ECONOMIC AND LABOR REALITIES, ALL OF THESE THINGS HAVE TO BE DISCUSSED. AND I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP TO DEVOTE THAT MUCH TIME TO THIS TODAY IN CONSIDERATION OF THIS BEING A COMMITTEE MEETING DEALING WITH A VARIETY OF OTHER ISSUES. SO MY QUESTION IS TO END ALL THIS IS WILL THERE COME A TIME WHEN ALL OF US WILL HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITY TO THINK THIS OVER AND THEN JUST HAVE A MEETING ABOUT THIS AND LET IT GO ON AS LONG AS IT NEEDS TO? SO WE CAN ANSWER THOSE VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE FOUR AREAS, UM, THAT ARE GONNA BE AFFECTING OUR COMMUNITIES. UH, AND THAT'S THE, UH, RESOURCE CONSUMPTION, QUALITY OF LIFE, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT, AND ZONING INFRASTRUCTURE. AND I THINK MR. MC, THAT'S PART OF THE PROCESS. UM, BECAUSE WHEN YOU START LOOKING AT, UM, I DON'T, I AGREE WITH MR. MERCHANT THAT WE DON'T WANT TO JUST BAN, I THINK WE NEED TO PUT THINGS IN PLACE TO SAY, IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS, THOSE CONSIDERATION THAT YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT, UH, WILL HAVE TO BE UNDER, UNDER CONSIDERATION BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD. AND THE RESOURCES, PARTICULAR WATER, ELECTRICITY, ALL THOSE ARE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH IF WE, IF A DATA CENTER MOVE INTO THE AREA. SO, YEAH, I, I MEAN, REALLY, UH, YORK, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THIS, [00:30:01] THESE DATA CENTERS CAN CONSUME AS MUCH ELECTRICITY AS A HUNDRED THOUSAND HOMES AND THEY USE MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER DAILY FOR EVAPORATIVE COOLING. I MEAN, THIS IS REALLY SOMETHING THAT NEEDS THE ATTENTION OF EVERYBODY INVOLVED IN THIS IN A PARTICULAR SETTING WHERE THERE'S NO OTHER DISTRACTIONS. YOU REALLY GOTTA FOCUS JUST ON THIS. AND I, I, I'M GOING TO LEAN TO MRS. HOWARD. UM, IS THAT A WORK SESSION OF THIS COMMITTEE HERE, OR WOULD YOU WANT COUNCIL TO HAVE THAT KIND OF WORK SESSION? I MEAN, WE CAN JUDGE, WE CAN HAVE A WORKSHOP, BE ALL OF COUNCIL. UM, IT, YEAH, I THINK SO. UM, AND I MAY BE A RECOMMENDATION GOING FORWARD THAT WE DO HAVE A WORKSHOP FOR THIS TO HAPPEN AND PROBABLY SPECIAL, A SPECIAL MEETING. A SPECIAL MEETING, YEAH. MM-HMM . JUST TO LAY IT OUT, WE, THE NORTHERN REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION BROUGHT, DID A WORKSHOP FOR US, UM, LAST WEEK OR WEEK BEFORE LAST, I CAN'T REMEMBER. TIME MOVED FAST. AND I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD SESSION. GOOD. MM-HMM . UM, BUT I THINK THAT PLUS SOME OTHER, UM, UH, RESOURCES THAT MAY BE OUT THERE THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY CALL UPON TO LET'S GET A, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE A DATA CENTER, A DATA CENTER IN YOUR REGION? ANYWAY, UH, ANY OTHER QUESTION? YEAH, YEAH. I'M SORRY. LET ME, UH, MISS, LEMME GO. I'VE ALREADY TALKED. YEAH, VERY BRIEFLY IS, IS THERE A CONSIDERATION THAT BEAUFORT COUNTY'S NOT GONNA HAVE A DATA CENTER BECAUSE THE WATER IS SO VITAL TO OUR COMMUNITY? IS THAT GONNA BE PART OF THIS WORKSHOP? I WOULD HOPE SO, YES. MAKES SENSE. YES. AND, UH, JULIANA HAS SOME SPECIFICS ON THE, THE WATER QUESTION AS WELL, WHEN SHE'S, WHEN SHE SPEAKS WITH Y'ALL. BUT YEAH, WE'LL HEAR THAT TODAY A LITTLE BIT. YES, SIR. YES, SIR. FANTASTIC. THANK YOU. SO I, I HAVE TWO POINTS. ONE, UM, WHAT HAPPENS NOW IF AN APPLICATION COMES IN? 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, AS I WAS DRAFTING MY VERSION OF THE BAND, I NOTICED NOTHING'S DEFINED. SO WHAT, HOW WOULD THAT USE ON AN APPLICATION BE APPLIED NOW WITHOUT, WITHOUT ANY CHANGES? YEAH, AND I CAN'T SAY FOR CERTAIN, BUT MOST LIKELY THAT TYPE OF USE WOULD BE KIND OF UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF LIGHT INDUSTRIAL. AND SO THAT SIZE WOULD MOST LIKELY, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF THE DATA CENTER, BE LIMITED TO OUR S ONE DISTRICT. UM, YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE TOOLS WE CURRENTLY HAVE TODAY, YOU KNOW, IN THE ZONING ORDINANCE. AND THE SECOND PART IS, SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN I FIRST DRAFTED THIS, UH, I KEPT HEARING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS EVERY, I'VE LEARNED A LOT IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, AND I'M SURE WE ALL WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. BUT HOW, IF WE WERE TO PUT A BAN IN PLACE, UH, I GET WORKSHOP, I GET, YOU KNOW, MORE COMMUNITY INPUT IN DRIVING THIS, BUT RATHER THAN BEING REACTIVE, I FEEL LIKE THANKFULLY WE'RE BEING PROACTIVE FOR A CHANGE. UM, HOW HARD WOULD IT BE IF WE WERE TO PUT IN A BAN, COMPLETE BAN, THEN WORK ON PUTTING IN THE REGULATIONS FOR SPECIAL USES OR SOMETHING ALONG DOWN THE, DOWN THE ROAD AS THE STATE AND THE FEDS DEVELOP MORE REGULATIONS ON IT? IS THAT SOMETHING WE COULD DO? HOW, HOW DIFFICULT OR IS THAT EVEN FEASIBLE TO DO? I THINK IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE DOABLE, BUT I THINK WHAT YOU SEE IS THAT THE COUNTIES HAVE LEANED MORE TOWARDS THE MORATORIUM TO DO THAT JUST BECAUSE IT HAS THE SAME ESSENTIAL PRACTICAL IMPACT. AND IT ALSO HEADS OFF ANY POTENTIAL LEGAL CHALLENGES TO A BLANKET USE OF A BAN FOR A SPECIFIC TYPE OF, OF USE. UM, I, I COULD, I, I'M NOT SURE WHAT EXACTLY WHAT FORM THAT LOOKS LIKE YET. I'M NOT SURE THAT THOSE HAVE PLAYED OUT TO DATE, BUT I, I THINK THERE WOULD BE SOME MOTIVATED, UH, ENTITIES TO TRY AND BRING SUIT TO STOP THAT IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN. SO, SO, THANK YOU. UM, LET ME, YOU GONNA FOLLOW UP ON THAT OR YOU, UH, YEAH, I'M GONNA FOLLOW UP ON DAVE, I'M GONNA AHEAD. YEAH, YEAH. UM, TO, TO DAVID'S POINT OF, UM, CONSIDERING A BAN, I, I, I SUPPORT YOU, I'M IN FAVOR OF US LOOKING AT A BAN AS WELL FOR US TO SAY INITIALLY THAT, UH, THE DATA CENTERS, UH, UH, UH, WE CAN'T STOP THEM OR, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DEAL WITH. YEAH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT, BUT, UH, WE SHOULD TAKE THE FIRST STEP TO TRY AND BAND IT. AND IF, IF WE SUCCESSFUL, THEN ALL WELL AND GOOD. IF NOT, THEN WE CONSIDER O OTHER OPTIONS. BUT TO SAY THAT WE CAN'T STOP THEM, I, I'D RATHER FIGHT THAN JUST GIVE IN TRYING TO BEAT A DEAD HORSE. MM-HMM . THE PURPOSE OF THIS ONE WAS TO GIVE YOU DIRECTION. BAN MEANS WE HAVE TO TAKE TIME TO GO TO THREE READINGS, AND ULTIMATELY A BAN THAT'S GONNA TAKE TIME. HAVING WHAT WE HAVE ISN'T NECESSARILY THE GREATEST THING. WHAT MR. MCKELLAN SAID IS ALL APROPOS, THAT'S GOING TO BE PART AND PARCEL OF AN ORDINANCE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO PRESENT TO US WITH THE REGULATIONS OF WHERE, HOW, WHEN, AND WHY WE ARE FACING DIFFERENT SITUATIONS THAN SOME OTHER COUNTIES. [00:35:01] THEY HAVE LARGE TRACKS OF LAND, MUCH LARGER THAN WE DO TO HAVE HUGE DATA CENTERS. WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE HUGE DATA CENTERS LIKE OTHER COUNTIES. SO AGAIN, I'M GOING TO REITERATE, I THINK IT'S APROPOS THAT WE HAVE YOU START AN ORDINANCE IMMEDIATELY HAVING A WORKSHOP FOR US TO CONTEND THAT THIS IS WHAT WE WANT TO DO AND THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO. WE'RE JUST WASTING TIME. YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. ALL YOU HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT IS WHAT OTHER COUNTIES ARE DOING, WHAT THE STATE IS PROPOSING, AND PUT TOGETHER AN ORDINANCE THAT WE CAN LIVE WITH. MR. ANY, JUST ONE MORE MAY. GO AHEAD. UH, QUICK QUESTION. IN THE BACK OF MATERIAL, THERE'S AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE. IS IT PHRASED UNDERNEATH THE EMERGENCY CATEGORY TO KIND OF SHORT CIRCUIT SOME OF THE READINGS OR, OR WHAT, WHAT'S THE BASIS FOR THE EMERGENCY ON THAT? AND IT LOOKS LIKE A TEMPLATE. OH. OH, THAT WAS FROM, UM, YES, THAT WAS THE, THAT WAS THE MODEL THAT WAS THAT FROM A-S-E-A-C, DO YOU REMEMBER? IT WASN'T IN A, THERE WAS AN EXAMPLE OF A MORATORIUM. THAT ONE CAME FROM THE SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL, OH, UH, LAW CENTER, I BELIEVE. UM, IT'S RIGHT ABOVE IT. IT'S FINAL MODEL DATA CENTER MORATORIUM. UH, IT'S, IT NOT, NOT THAT. OH, ABOVE SARAH, SARAH ON, I'M SORRY, I'M LOOKING AT IT ON THE, ON THE AGENDA BACKUP MATERIAL. IT'S THE NEXT DOCU, YEAH, THAT ONE. AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE RIGHT THERE. I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WOULD JUSTIFY, I GUESS, COL COUNTY WOULD'VE HAD WITH AN ACTUAL APPLICATION PENDING. MAYBE THAT'S WHY THEY DID IT, BUT I, I'M NOT SURE WHY THAT WAS LABELED EMERGENCY. I DON'T KNOW WHAT EFFECT THAT THAT HAS. BUT I DO KNOW THAT CALLINS PRETTY CLOSELY TRACKED THE, THE MODEL ORDINANCE THERE, UM, THAT WAS PROVIDED HERE IN THE BACKUPS IF YOU COMPARE CALLINS. UM, SO I GUESS FROM A LEGAL STANDPOINT, WHAT WOULD BE THE, FOR THE EMERGENCY, AND WOULD THAT ALLOW US TO IMPLEMENT IT QUICKER AND THEN WORK ON IT AND, AND AVOID ANY THREAT? I I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WOULD WORK WITH THE SUSPECT. YEAH, I'M, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY SPECIAL PROCEDURE THAT WE COULD, WE COULD AVAIL OURSELVES, UH, BY CALLING IT AN EMERGENCY. IT'S JUST CALLED MY ATTENTION BACK MATERIAL. CERTAINLY. YEAH. THANK YOU MR. GER. UM, AND NOW, UH, WE WILL, UH, ALLOW MS. ICK TO, PLEASE GO AHEAD. COME ON UP. SPECIFICS. OKAY. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ALL ARE PRETTY FAMILIAR ALREADY WITH THE MYRIAD OF CONDITIONS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN WE'RE CONSIDERING DATA CENTERS AND REGULATING THEM. YOU WILL HEAR ME WAFFLE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN DATA AND DATA. PLEASE FORGIVE ME THAT. UM, SO I THINK THE BIGGEST CONCERNS THAT WE WOULD HAVE LOCALLY, AND THAT A LOT OF COMMUNITIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND BEYOND HAVE, ARE THE IMPACTS TO ELECTRICAL AND WATER USAGE AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR RATE PAYERS THAT ALREADY EXIST IN THOSE REGIONS. UM, SO TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION, DATA CENTERS, DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY IS COMING FROM, UM, THEIR USE, OBVIOUSLY OF ALL OF THEIR IT EQUIPMENT, THEIR COOLING EQUIPMENT, AND HOW THEY SET THAT UP. AND WHAT REALLY IMPACTS OUR LOCAL RATE PLAYERS OR RATE PAYERS WOULD BE THE DEMANDS OF, UM, EXPANDING INFRASTRUCTURE AND CREATING UPGRADES, WHICH WOULD BE KIND OF A SHARED COST THROUGHOUT ALL OF THE RATE PAYERS, IMPACTS THE WHOLESALE COST AND AN INCREASED NEEDS FOR MAINTENANCE FOR THOSE SYSTEMS. UM, SO THERE HAVE BEEN ACTIONS AT THE STATE LEVEL THAT HAVEN'T GONE ANYWHERE YET TO TRY AND PROTECT RATE PAYERS FROM THOSE IMPACTS. BUT OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER IF WE DECIDE WE'D LIKE TO TAKE REGULATORY ACTION HERE ON DATA CENTERS WOULD BE CITING REQUIREMENTS, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE CITED NEAR WHERE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE ALREADY IS, MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS CAPACITY FROM OUR UTILITY TO SERVE DATA CENTERS DEPENDING ON THEIR SIZE AND WHATEVER ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS THAT COULD HAPPEN WITHIN THE DATA CENTER CENTERS FOR THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY'RE USING. UM, VERY SIMILARLY, UH, I'VE ALSO SEEN WORK DONE FOR ELECTRICAL IMPACT STUDIES BEING A PART OF A REQUIREMENT FOR DATA CENTERS AS THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF BEING APPROVED, WHICH WOULD HELP GIVE US A LOT OF INSIGHT ON WHAT SPECIFICALLY THAT ONE DATA CENTER WE'RE CONSIDERING WOULD NEED AND HOW THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO MITIGATE IMPACTS. UM, WHAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING THROUGH SHOWS THAT RENEWABLE RESOURCES IS GOING TO BE THE BEST, UM, FOR OUR DATA CENTERS, BUT SETTING THAT ASIDE, ANY OFF THE GRID, UM, ENERGY DEVELOPMENT SOURCE FOR THEM WOULD BE THE BEST BECAUSE THEN THEY'RE NOT CONNECTING INTO THE GRID. AND THAT WOULD REDUCE ANY IMPACTS ONTO RATE PAYERS BECAUSE THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY OVERALL GRID IMPACTS. SIMILARLY FOR WATER USAGE. SO OUR WATER USAGE PRIMARILY COMES FROM THE COOLING SYSTEMS. UM, THIS IS BECAUSE THEY ARE USING WATER [00:40:01] EITHER THROUGH A CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM, WHICH IS THE MORE EFFICIENT SYSTEM FOR WATER USAGE CONCERNS, UM, WHERE PIPES ARE GOING DIRECTLY UP TO THE IT EQUIPMENT AND COOLING EQUIPMENT BY NOT GETTING THE EQUIPMENT WET, OF COURSE, BUT THE COOLNESS OF THE PIPES IS TRANSFERRING TO THE EQUIPMENT TO COOL IT DOWN. THERE'S ALSO OPEN LOOP SYSTEMS. THESE SYSTEMS ARE WHERE YOU GET A BULK OF THAT WATER LOSS WITH SOMETHING BETWEEN 70 TO 80% OF THE WATER THAT THEY, UM, THAT THEY EXTRACT FROM THE UTILITY OR WHATEVER SOURCE THEY'RE GETTING FROM IS LOST THROUGH EVAPORATION AND THE REST IS GONNA BE WASTEWATER. SO THOSE ARE VERY INEFFICIENT SYSTEMS AS FAR AS WATER IS CONCERNED, UM, BUT EASIER FOR DATA CENTERS TO USE. IT'S ONE OF THE MOST COMMON WAYS THAT DATA CENTERS ARE COOLING THEIR EQUIPMENT. SO AS FAR AS WHAT THAT MEANS FOR LOCAL RATE PAYERS, IF WE HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSIONS, UPGRADES, WE'LL SEE IMPACTS TO THE RATES THAT ARE BEING PAID LOCALLY, IF WE HAVE IMPACTS TO WHOLESALE COST AS WELL FROM INCREASED DEMAND, AND THEN AGAIN, THAT INCREASED NEED FOR MAINTENANCE. SO THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE OR SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT THIS WOULD BE, AGAIN, CITING WHERE ARE THEY GOING, HOW CLOSE ARE THEY TO EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE? WHAT SOURCES ARE THEY TAPPING INTO BECAUSE IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A REQUIREMENT THAT THEY TAP INTO THE UTILITY. THEY COULD BE TAPPING INTO GROUNDWATER. WHAT IMPACT WOULD THAT HAVE ON LOCAL USES AND COMMUNITIES NEARBY? SO THERE ARE CONCERNS WITH HOW THAT MIGHT IMPACT EXISTING FARMLANDS AND OF COURSE, EXISTING COMMUNITIES WHO RELY ON THOSE WATERS. UM, ARE THERE WAYS THAT THEY CAN COLLECT THEIR OWN WATER ONSITE THROUGH RESERVOIR SYSTEMS, WHICH FEEDS INTO STORMWATER REGULATIONS AND HOW WE PREVENT STORMWATER RUNOFF FROM THESE SYS, UM, LARGE, TYPICALLY VERY IMPERVIOUS USES. AND, UH, LET'S SEE, REQUIRING THOSE CLOSED LOOP SYSTEMS HAS, HAS SEEN, HAS BEEN A COMMON, UM, WAY OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE HANDLED WATER EFFICIENCY AND WATER USE CONCERNS AS WELL, AND AS WELL AS DEMONSTRATING THAT THERE WOULD BE NO NEGATIVE IMPACT TO THE RATE PAYERS. SO KIND OF DOING ANOTHER USAGE STUDY. SO THESE ARE SOME OF THOSE REALLY HIGH LEVEL CON OR REALLY HIGH PRIORITY CONCERNS, UM, AS FAR AS NOT JUST QUALITY OF LIFE, BUT OF COURSE THAT FINANCIAL IMPACT TO YOUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH REGARD TO WATER USAGE AND ELECTRICITY USAGE. WHEN IT COMES TO OTHER TYPES OF, UM, CONCERNS, I KIND OF CALL THESE MORE OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL AND QUALITY OF LIFE IMPACTS. THIS GETS INTO A LOT OF OTHER THINGS. UM, ONE OF THEM IS NOISE. SO OF COURSE THESE SYSTEMS CREATE A LOT OF NOISE. IT'S CONSTANT, IT'S ALL OF THE TIME. AND THERE'S LOTS OF WAYS COMMUNITIES HAVE HELPED TO ADDRESS THIS. UM, THERE ARE, AND AND INTERESTINGLY, I WAS SEEING A LOT OF COMPANIES WHO HELP BUILD DATA CENTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT THESE NOISE ABATING, UM, SOURCES OR RESOURCES TO USE TO HELP MAKE THEM MORE COMMUNITY FRIENDLY. SO THERE IS, EVEN FROM THE INDUSTRY SIDE, A PUSH TO BE MORE COMMUNITY FRIENDLY. UM, BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS, UH, NOISE ABSORBING MATERIALS THAT ARE USED WITHIN THE BUILDINGS, LIKE DOUBLE INSULATING YOUR WALLS, INSULATING FLOORS, PUTTING UP PHYSICAL SOUND BARRIERS AROUND THE FACILITIES. THESE CAN BE WALLS, EARTH AND BERMS. THEY COULD ALSO BE BUFFERS AND SETBACKS, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE LARGE BUFFERS AND SETBACKS FROM SURROUNDING USAGES THAT ARE VEGETATED TO HELP MITIGATE ANY OF THE NOISE THAT WOULD BE COMING FROM THOSE BUILDINGS. UM, SO THAT'S A PART OF SITE DESIGN, WHICH OF COURSE WOULD BE A PART OF ZONING ABOUT WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED, MAKING SURE THAT THESE FACILITIES ARE LOCATED ON THE SITE AS FAR AWAY FROM SURROUNDING USES AS POSSIBLE. UM, AND THEN ANOTHER BIG NOISE COMPONENT COMING FROM DATA CENTERS, IN ADDITION TO THE TYPICAL EVERYDAY, UM, HUMS AND VIBRATIONS COMING FROM THEIR COOLING SYSTEMS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT WOULD BE BACKUP GENERATORS. SO BACKUP GENERATORS ARE TYPICALLY GOING TO BE, UH, DIESEL FUELED GENERATORS. THEY DON'T ONLY RUN WHEN THERE'S AN EMERGENCY, BUT THEY WILL RUN INTERMITTENTLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO TEST THAT THEY'RE CONTINUING TO FUNCTION. AND SO AS FAR AS THOSE GO, THERE HAVE BEEN RESTRICTIONS ON WHEN YOU CAN RUN MAINTENANCE TESTS ON THE BACKUP GENERATORS, HOW MANY BACKUP GENERATORS CAN BE TESTED AT A TIME TO KIND OF HELP MITIGATE ANY ADDITIONAL NOISE IMPACT COMING FROM THOSE, UM, MACHINES AND TOOLS. THE NEXT CONSIDERATION HERE IS LIGHT POLLUTION. THESE ARE HEAVILY LIGHTED FACILITIES, LOTS OF LIGHTS BEING USED AROUND THE BUILDINGS ON THEIR EXTERIORS AND ENTRY POINTS, PERIMETER AND SECURITY LIGHTING AND LIGHTING AT PARKING LOTS AND ALONG ACCESS ROADS. AND OF COURSE THAT LIGHTING'S GONNA BE USED WHEN IT'S DARK. SO THERE ARE BIG CONCERNS ABOUT HOW THAT IMPACTS NEARBY COMMUNITIES AND HOW IT IMPACTS THE NIGHT SKY, PARTICULARLY ALONG WILDLIFE CORRIDORS AND IN RURAL AREAS. AND SO SOME THINGS THAT OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE DONE, UM, AGAIN, SETBACKS AND BUFFERS CAN HELP WITH THAT, MAKING SURE THERE'S THAT VEGETATED SETBACK AND BUFFER MOTION SENSOR SECURITY LIGHTING SO THAT [00:45:01] IT'S NOT ON ALL THE TIME, BUT JUST WHEN IT'S TRIGGERED, UM, USING WARMER COLOR TEMPERATURES. WE SEE THIS WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SEA TURTLES, RIGHT? IT'S KIND OF SIMILAR, UH, TO HELP LOWER THAT LIGHT POLLUTION, DOWNWARD DIRECTED LIGHTING FOR SECURITY AND LOWER LUX LIGHTING DURING TIME PERIODS WHEN THE PARKING LOTS, UH, DURING PARTICULAR TIME PERIODS WHEN PARKING LOTS AND ACCESS ROADS ARE NOT BEING HEAVILY USED. UM, SO THINKING ABOUT THOSE CONCERNS, THEN WE HAVE OUR, IN ADDITION TO LIGHT POLLUTION AND NOISE POLLUTION, OUR WATER POLLUTION AND AIR POLLUTION CONCERNS. UM, WATER POLLUTION WOULD PRIMARILY BE COMING FROM CONSTRUCTION RUNOFF DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PHASES OF THESE FACILITIES COMING FROM FLUSHING FROM THE COOLING SYSTEMS, IF THEY ARE EVAPORATING TOWERS, THIS IS CALLED BLOW DOWN. AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT IT DOES IS THEY SPRAY, UH, THEY FLUSH THE SYSTEM TO GET OUT ANY OF THE, ANY OF THE OLD WATER AND ANY OF THE, UH, TRACE HEAVY METALS, BIOCIDES AND CORROSION INHIBITORS THAT END UP IN THOSE SYSTEMS. AND SO THOSE WATERS, THOSE POLLUTED WATERS COULD POTENTIALLY END UP IN LOCAL WATERWAYS. SO IT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO BE AWARE OF WHEN WE'RE CONSIDERING HOW ARE, NOT ONLY HOW ARE THEY USING WATER, BUT HOW ARE THEY TAKING CARE OF THEIR COOLING SYSTEMS. UM, HEATED WATER IS ALSO TECHNICALLY A POLLUTANT. IT HAS AN IMPACT ON THE DISSOLVED OXYGEN IN THE WATER, AND IT ALSO HAS, UH, IMPACTS ON MARINE LIFE WHO ARE USED TO PARTICULAR TEMPERATURE LEVELS IN THE WATER, ESPECIALLY AS WE GET INTO OUR COOLER SEASONS. AND IT COULD ENCOURAGE, UM, ALGAL BLOOMS TO BE TRIGGERED LOCALLY WHERE THAT HOT HEATED WATER IS BEING RELEASED. SO THAT'S REALLY A CONCERN IF IT'S GOING INTO A NATURAL WATER BODY. SO ONE WAY TO MITIGATE THIS WOULD BE TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT CLOSED LOOP COOLING SYSTEM. AGAIN, COMING BACK TO THAT, THERE'S ALSO WATER FREE COOLING SYSTEMS, AND I DIDN'T GET TOO INTO THE WEEDS ON THAT, BUT THEY DON'T USE WATER. THEY USE OTHER NON-CONDUCTIVE LIQUIDS TO HELP COOL THINGS DOWN. AND SO THAT'S NOT GONNA BE RELEASED OUT INTO THE, THE ENVIRONMENT THAT'S GONNA BE CONTINUED TO BE REUSED. AND THEN THERE WERE COMMUNITIES THAT REQUIRE THAT THEY PRE-TREAT THEIR BLOW DOWN WASTEWATER ON SITE SO THAT IT'S NOT GETTING INTO THE ENVIRONMENT WITH ALL OF THOSE PO UH, POTENTIAL CONTAMINANTS IN THEM. AIR POLLUTION IS COMING FROM OUR PARTICULAR MAT MATTER DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE. SO AIRBORNE DUST, UM, AND THEN ALSO DURING OPERATION, AND THIS REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT ENERGY IS BEING USED TO HELP RUN THE FACILITY. UM, BUT DEFINITELY WHEN THE GENERATORS ARE BEING USED AS IF THEY ARE DIESEL BACKUP AND THEN HEAT ISLAND EFFECTS, CREATING HIGH VOLUMES OF WASTE HEAT, THAT'S REALLY GONNA BE MORE LOCALLY FELT AROUND THE FACILITY AND, AND BY THE FOLKS WHO LIVE THERE IN THOSE MICRO CLIMATES. SO SOME COMMUNITIES ARE REQUIRING HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENTS TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THE IMPACTS FOR OUR PARTICULAR MATTER. THERE'S AIR QUALITY PERMITTING THAT OF COURSE HAPPENS AT A A FEDERAL LEVEL, BUT, UH, THERE COULD BE THOUGHT GIVEN TO THAT LOCALLY, UM, REQUIRING RENEWABLES TO HELP REDUCE ANY OF THE ENERGY PARTICULAR MATTER THAT'S CREATED THROUGH THE ENERGY PROCESS. AND THEN HEAT MITIGATING MEASURES. SO LANDSCAPING REFLECTIVE MATERIALS AND HEAT DISPERSION SITE DESIGN TO HELP REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF HEAT THAT'S, UM, BEING CREATED AS A RESULT OF ALL THE CONCRETE AND ALL OF THE BUILDINGS. AND THEN, LET'S SEE, IT KEEPS GOING. WE HAVE A COUPLE MORE. UM, STORM WATER RUNOFF. SO AGAIN, LARGE FLAT ROOFTOPS, EXPANSIVE PARKING LOTS, SERVICE ROADS IS ALL IMPACT STORM WATER RUNOFF, AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO TREAT THAT. AND WE TAKE OUR STORM WATER VERY SERIOUSLY HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. UM, SO PRE AND POST DEVELOPMENT ANALYSIS OF HYDROLOGIC CHANGES COULD HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW THE SITE'S BEING CHANGED AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE INCREASED STORM WATER RUNOFF. OF COURSE, WE CAN SUPPORT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE TO HELP MANAGE RUNOFF. AND THEN THERE ARE ONSITE RETENTION SYSTEMS, AND I REFERENCED EARLIER RESERVOIRS THAT COULD HELP COLLECT SOME OF THAT STORM WATER AND COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED IN THEIR WATER COOLING SYSTEMS. AND THEN THERE ARE SMART MONITORING AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AS WELL, WHO, WHICH WOULD BE MO ABLE TO MONITOR HOW MUCH WATER IS RUNNING OFF AND HELP TURN ON, UM, DIFFERENT PIPING SYSTEMS OR, OR ACTIVATE DIFFERENT RETENTION SYSTEMS AS CERTAIN THRESHOLDS ARE, ARE HIT AS A PART OF STORM WATER. AND WITH THE, THE END OF OUR LAST SUMMER AND THE FORECAST FOR THIS WINTER, IT'S A BIG THING TO THINK ABOUT WITH ALL OF THE RAINS THAT ARE COMING. UM, AND THEN THE LAST PIECE HERE, SOME, SOME COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN GIVING THOUGHT TO DECOMMISSIONING. SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THESE FACILITIES CLOSE DOWN AND HOW DO WE TAKE CARE OF THOSE? I DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF INFORMATION FOR YOU ON THAT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO FLAG IT BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. UM, IF, IF THESE SYSTEMS OR THESE CENTERS NEED TO SHUT DOWN, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE SITES AND THEN, UH, BACK TO THE BACKUP. OH, AND I'VE COVERED THIS ALREADY AND I WAS TALKING ABOUT PARTICULAR MATTER, BUT, AND NOISE, THE, UH, THE BACKUP ELECTRICAL GENERATION GENERATORS. UM, BUT THOSE WERE THE, THE REALLY COMMON CONCERNS THAT COMMUNITIES ARE TAKING A LOOK AT. THERE'S OTHER TYPES OF CONCERNS, UM, LIKE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN BECAUSE OF A NEARBY COMMUNITY HAS TO LOOK AT ONE OF THESE ALL THE TIME. HOW DO WE MAKE SURE IT'S NOT JUST A SOLID [00:50:01] WALL, WE WANNA BREAK UP THE WALL AND MAKE IT LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE MULTIPLE BUILDINGS JUST FOR THE, THE VIEW SHED OF NEARBY COMMUNITIES. UM, BUT THESE WERE THE, THE ONES THAT WERE MOST TALKED ABOUT ACROSS THE BOARD. ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. YES SIR. ANY QUESTION FOR THAT'S A LOT. YOU JUST SAID IT'S A LOT. YEAH. UM, IT'S A LOT. AND, UM, THEY'RE VERY NUANCED FOR ME. YOU, YOU GOT A QUESTION? QUESTION? GO AHEAD. NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTION I WAS GETTING READY TO MOVE US ON. CAN I MAKE SOME COMMENTS? YEAH, GO AHEAD. SO MR. CHAIR, CAN I MAKE SOME COMMENTS FOR CONSIDERATION? YES. I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD. BASED ON, IT SOUNDED LIKE THERE'S SOME URGENCY AND CONCERN ON THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE AS FAR AS, UH, AN APPLICATION POTENTIALLY COMING IN AND HOW WE WOULD HANDLE THAT. IT MIGHT BEHOOVE US TO RUN TWO ORDINANCES SIMULTANEOUSLY, UH, ONE A MORATORIUM AND THE OTHER A BAN. IF YOU WANNA DO, HAVE THEM BOTH COME FORWARD, GO TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION. I DUNNO IF WE CAN GET IT DONE BY OCTOBER 5TH, PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING DATE. THAT'S FOUR WEEKS AWAY. BUT IF WE CAN, THEN YOU CAN CONSIDER IF THERE'S A SENSE OF URGENCY, YOU CAN CONSIDER A SPECIAL NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE MEETING THAT SAME WEEK, THEN MOVE IT TO THE SECOND COUNCIL MEETING IN OCTOBER AND INVOKE THE PENDING ORDINANCE. AND THEN THAT MEANS NEXT MONTH YOU'LL HAVE THAT MORATORIUM IN EFFECT, SO YOU HAVE TIME TO FIGURE IT OUT. AND YOU CAN TAKE HOWEVER MUCH TIME YOU NEED BETWEEN THE, UH, FIRST READING AND THE SECOND READING FOR THE ORDINANCE FOR, UH, THE CDC FOR, UH, WHAT YOU WANNA DO AS FAR AS A BAND, OR IF YOU WANNA TAKE A DIFFERENT COURSE OR IF YOU WANT TO HAVE WORKSHOP IN THE MEETING, IN THE MIDST, SOMEWHERE THERE TO GET MORE INFORMATION. BUT THAT WILL GIVE YOU AN EXPEDITED PATH, GETTING THIS IN PLACE IF THAT'S THE CONCERN OF THE COMMITTEE. LET ME ASK YOU THIS. UM, THE, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BAN AND THE MORATORIUM? WOULDN'T IT DO THE SAME THING? A MORATORIUM IS A DELAY TO DELAY. YOU WANT, UH, TAKE ANY ACTION ON ANY APPLICATIONS OR ACCEPT ANY APPLICATIONS FOR WHATEVER PERIOD, WHETHER IT BE SIX MONTHS, NINE MONTHS, A YEAR. UM, THE BEAUTY OF DOING A YEAR IS YOU CAN SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION JANUARY THROUGH JUNE TO SEE WHICH WAY THE STATE'S GOING. ARE, IS THE STATE GOING TO PROHIBIT YOU FROM BANNING DATA CENTERS? ARE THEY GONNA REGULATE IT? WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO? WE DON'T KNOW YET. THAT GIVES YOU THE TIME TO SEE WHERE THE STATE'S GOING. SO YOU CAN DECIDE HOW THAT AFFECTS OUR PASSING AND ORDINANCE FOR THE COUNTY. NOW MY MY THOUGHT IS BASICALLY, UM, TO PICK UP ON THE MORATORIUM, UM, TAKE ACTION FOR A MORATORIUM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME I PREFER TAKING ACTION ON THE ORDINANCE AT THE SAME TIME. CAN WE DO THOSE SIMULTANEOUSLY? THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING, RUN THEM CONSECUTIVELY. SO THEY BOTH COME TOGETHER. NOT THE BAND, NOT THE BAND, NOT A BAND, BUT A MORATORIUM WHICH WOULD PROHIBIT, UH, A MORATORIUM WOULD COME FORWARD. BUT IF YOU WANNA ALSO HAVE A FIRST READING, UM, OF A BAN, SO COUNCIL DECIDE, YOU'LL HAVE MORE TIME TO FIGURE OUT DO YOU WANNA HAVE A MORATORIUM OR A BAN THAT GIVES YOU TIME UNTIL IT GETS TO COUNCIL? BECAUSE NOTHING PASSES, UH, UNTIL IT GETS TO COUNCIL. UH, BUT YOU CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO START THE PROCESS OVER. YOU DECIDE, LET'S SAY YOU GO TO THE MORATORIUM, YOU DECIDE NOW WE DON'T GO TO THE BAND, YOU HAVE TO START OVER AGAIN AND COME BACK WITH THE BAND. IF THEY BOTH COME UP, YOU MAKE A CHOICE. WHICH ONE YOU WANNA PASS? ONE OR BOTH. OKAY. I'M, YOU GOT ME ALL CONFUSED HERE, BUT THAT'S ALL RIGHT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. YEAH. UM, I, I, MY THING WAS THAT IF YOU HAD THE MORATORIUM, THAT WILL STOP ANYBODY FROM COMING IN. ABSOLUTELY. RIGHT? SO YOU DON'T NEED A BAN. THAT'S A TIME, IF THAT'S WHAT COUNCIL WANTS TO DO. BUT COUNCIL WAS TALKING ABOUT A BAN FIRST. ELIMINATOR, MORATORIUM THOSE TIME, BUT ALL REQUIRES THE SAME AMOUNT OF READINGS, THE BAN AND THE MORATORIUM, BUT YOU'RE GONNA INVOKE MOST LIKELY PENDING ORDINANCE TO PUT IT IN EFFECT AT THE FIRST READING. SO IT'S EFFECTIVE. THAT'S WHAT I HEARD THE PLAN WOULD BE. OKAY. UM, UM, GO AHEAD. ONE THING, UM, MR. MR MERCHANTS ALSO REMINDED ME THAT IN, IN PRIOR INSTANCES, AND IT WOULD BE THE WILL OF COMMITTING COUNSEL IF THEY WANTED TO DO THAT, BUT WE HAVE HELD FIRST READING BEFORE AN ITEM HAS GONE TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR EXACTLY THAT PURPOSE. SO I THINK THAT COULD BE THE EXPEDITED PROCEDURE THAT MR. BAROLO WAS REFERENCING EARLIER. RIGHT? WOULD THAT JUST BE ENTITLED ONLY YES. A FIRST READING AND TITLE ONLY, ONLY AND THEN LET SIDES IT IS, BUT THAT'S ALWAYS CHALLENGED WHEN SOMEBODY, IF SOMEBODY CHALLENGES IT, THAT'S ALWAYS AN ISSUE WE HAVE TO ADDRESS IN COURT. AND, UH, THAT'S THE QUESTION. I THINK WE BOTH, ALL OF US WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN AVOID BEING CHALLENGED. THAT'S WHY I SUGGESTED IF YOU GET IT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON OCTOBER 5TH, HAVE A SPECIAL NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE MEETING, AND THEN IT GOES TO THE SECOND COUNCIL MEETING, THEN IT'S IN EFFECT, WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE THAT, UH, THE END OF OCTOBER, THAT'S YOU. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. UH, NOW I FOLLOW YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. THERE'S TWO OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS ARE HERE TODAY TOO, 'CAUSE OF THEIR INTEREST IN IT. UM, BUT I THINK, UH, PERSONALLY [00:55:01] I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE, THE MORE PRUDENT WAY TO DO IT TO GET IT GOING. WHAT? YEAH. MY OPINION. OKAY. NOW, UM, GO AHEAD. YOU, ANYTHING ELSE? SO IF I'M, IF I'M HEARING CORRECTLY, IF, UM, THE DIRECTION COMING OUT OF THIS WOULD BE THAT WE WOULD SEEK TO FOLLOW THE EXPEDITED EXPEDITED TIMELINE AND CONCURRENTLY BRING FORTH THE MORATORIUM ORDINANCE AND AN ORDINANCE REGULATING WITH OPTIONS TO BE A FULL BAND OR HEAVILY REGULATORY OPTIONS ABOUT WHEN, WHERE, WHY, ET CETERA, BASED ON OUR READINGS FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS, AND GIVE COMMITTEE AND COUNSEL THE ULTIMATE CHOICES TO THE SUBSTANCE. MAKES SENSE? DO WE NEED THAT IN A FORM OF A MOTION? I WOULD THINK SO. 'CAUSE JUST NEED GUIDANCE IF THAT'S WHAT THE COMMITTEE'S PLEASURE IS. YEAH. THAT, IS THAT ACCEPTABLE TO EVERYBODY IN OR YOU WANT A MOTION? I DON'T THINK WE NEED, I THINK A MOTION I'M LOOKING FOR STAFF WOULD PROBABLY BE THE CLEANEST WAY TO DO IT. YEAH. OKAY. THEN I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION THAT WE DIRECT THE ADMINISTRATION TO PREPARE A MORATORIUM ORDINANCE AS WELL AS AN ORDINANCE THAT WOULD ALLOW COUNSEL TO MAKE THE DECISION ON A HEAVILY REGULATED ORDINANCE OR A COMPLETE BAN. I'LL SECOND THAT. AND DO WE NEED A TIME ON THE MORATORIUM? HOW FAR, WHAT'S THE MAXIMUM WE COULD DO? SO THE MAX, WE, I MEAN, WE'VE SEEN SIX, NINE, AND 12 MONTHS. I HAVEN'T SEEN MUCH BEYOND 12. LET'S GET US THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION. SO 12 MONTHS WOULD BUY YOU THE MOST AMOUNT OF TIME. AND I, I BELIEVE THAT MR. CHAIRMAN, SORRY. I BELIEVE THE GUIDANCE FROM, UH, THE MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION, UH, JUST SAID REASONABLE AND I THINK REASONABLE SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR, BUT IT, IT, IT DIDN'T SET A SPECIFIC TIMELINE. WANNA PUT IT, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT SIX MONTHS WOULD BE APPROPRIATE BY THAT TIME OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS WILL TAKE PLACE. SIX MONTHS WILL PUT US PROBABLY CLOSE TO APRIL, MAY, THE FIRST RING WILL BE THE END OF OCTOBER. SO TO GET YOU TO, ALL RIGHT, THEN LET'S DO NINE MONTHS. THAT WILL TAKE US. OKAY. APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF TIME. NINE MONTHS. IS THAT ACCEPTABLE? THAT'S ON THE MOTION, ARTHUR. THE SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SURE. OKAY. ANY OTHER FURTHER? I, I'D JUST LIKE TO MENTION, IT SOUNDED LIKE FROM WHAT MS. JULIANA SAID, THAT YOU'D ALMOST HAVE TO DO LIKE AN ELECTRICITY AND WATER IMPACT ANALYSIS, JUST LIKE WE ALREADY DO FOR TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS, AND THAT IF SOMEONE PROPOSED ONE, UM, AND THAT, THAT WOULD BE CHALLENGING, YOU KNOW, AND WE STILL NEED TO EXPLORE, YOU KNOW, HOW FAR WE CAN GO WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT HERE AT A, AS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS WELL, RIGHT? YEAH. SO IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT THE STATE'S DOING WITH THAT REGARD, MR. CHAIRMAN? YES. UH, PRIOR TO VOTING ON THIS MOTION, WOULD, IS THERE STILL A DESIRE TO DO A WORKSHOP TO GET, UH, PUBLIC INPUT AND FEEDBACK ON THAT, ON, ON ALL THIS? AND, AND THEN, AND THAT CAN HAPPEN. UH, RIGHT, RIGHT. NOTHING RUSHING. UH, AS SOON AS STAFF GETS ENOUGH INFORMATION, I THINK THE INFORMATION THAT WE WANT TO HEAR IS WHAT WOULD BE, UH, INFORMATION THAT WOULD AFFECT POLICY. YEAH. UM, PARAMETERS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT ENERGY CONSUMPTION, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND WHAT SHOULD OUR POLICY BE, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, AS IT RELATES TO WATER, ENERGY AND NOISE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. SO THAT'S WHAT I, YOU KNOW, SO THE STAFF WILL HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO DO THAT. YEAH. OKAY. CHAIRMAN, ONLINE. ONLINE, OH, I'M SORRY, MR. MCAL. THANK YOU. THANKS, YORK. UM, WITH REGARD TO THE SEARCH FOR THE METRICS HERE, THAT WERE ALL BEING DISCUSSED BY A GREAT, MANY OF THE PROPONENTS, UH, OF, OF THE, UH, PEOPLE PRESENTING. I MEAN, UM, IT, THIS REALLY JUST STRESSES THE URGENCY OF HAVING THIS SPECIAL CALL MEETING TO DEAL WITH THIS. SO I THINK EVERYONE WHO'S COMING TO THAT HAS TO BE PREPARED TO TALK ABOUT THE MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER CLOSED LOOP SYSTEMS. UH, THE FACT THAT IT'S A HUNDRED THOUSAND HOMES WORTH OF ELECTRICITY. I MEAN, THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF METRICS THAT NEED TO COME TO THAT MEETING. WE CAN'T COME TO THAT MEETING AND THEN ASK EVERYBODY TO GET THOSE THINGS. WE HAVE TO GET THOSE THINGS AND BRING THEM TO THE MEETING WITH US SO WE CAN START STRUCTURING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO HERE TO CONTROL THIS, UM, IF WE WANT IT, OR TO BAN IT IF WE DON'T. BUT THEN YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER, UH, BANNING IT. YOU'RE GOING TO BE BANNING SOMETHING THAT WILL BE THE DIGITAL SPINE OF THE, OF ESSENTIALLY WHAT'S GONNA BE HAPPENING IN OUR ECONOMY MOVING FORWARD. SO TO, TO ELIMINATE OUR ABILITY TO, UM, CAPITALIZE ON THAT MAY BE A FOOLISH WAY TO GO. I THINK THAT WE REALLY, THIS WORKSHOP WILL GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO DECIDE WHETHER IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CONTROL [01:00:01] WITH RESTRICTIONS THAT WE PUT TOGETHER THROUGH AN ORDINANCE, OR IF IT'S SOMETHING WE JUST DON'T WANNA HAVE TO DEAL WITH. AND I, I MEAN, THAT'S ESSENTIALLY GONNA BE THE QUESTION. THANK YOU. YES, SIR. OKAY. YOU CARRY THAT MOTION OUT. OKAY. THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION THAT'S ON THE TABLE, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HAND, LARRY. OKAY. IT IS UNANIMOUS. THANK YOU. UM, WE SPENT MORE TIME THAN I ANTICIPATED, BUT THAT'S ALL RIGHT. UH, IT WAS A GOOD DISCUSSION. AND, UM, WELL DESERVING, UH, I FORGOT TO HIGHLIGHT THE TWO MEMBERS OF, UM, OF THE, UH, PLANNING COMMISSION. WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU HERE. THANK YOU. UM, WE WE'RE DOWN TO, UM, ITEM [9.a. An Ordinance authorizing the County Administrator to execute an Electric Line Easement with Dominion Energy on the property known as Pocotaligo Preserve (TMS R710 012 000 0001 0000 and R710 012 000 0072 0000). (FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact. Dominion will fully fund the relocation of the electrical line.) - Dylan Kidd, Interim Assistant County Administrator, 5 minutes ] NINE A. UM, AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZED THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR TO EXECUTE THE ANY ELECTRIC LINE EASEMENT WITH DOMINION ENERGY, UH, ON THE PROPERTY KNOWN AS, UH, PALO POGO PRESERVE. UM, CAN I ENTERTAIN THAT MOTION? I'LL MAKE THE MOTION. I SECOND IT. AND SECONDED BY MR. DAWSON, MR. HOWARD. MR. DAWSON, UM, MR. KID IS ON YOU? YES, SIR. UM, SO THIS IS A PROPERTY THAT WE HAVE OUT, UH, AT POCO ALGO. IT'S VERY NEAR, UH, COTTON HALL. IT'S A VERY LARGE, BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF PROPERTY. I WAS ACTUALLY JUST OUT THERE LAST WEEK FOR THE PHASE TWO HYDROLOGY, UM, BID MEETING THAT WE HAD OUT THERE FOR THE NEXT STEPS IN THE PROJECT. BUT AS PART OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THAT LAND, WE HAVE, UM, AN AREA THAT IS LOCATED UNDER ONE OF DOMINION'S LARGE TRANSMISSION LINES. UM, IN THAT AREA, WE WILL NEED TO DO SOME PRESCRIBED BURNING AND SOME PINE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN THERE. UM, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, DOMINION WASN'T TOO KEEN ON THE IDEA OF HAVING A BURNING FLAME UNDER THEIR TRANSMISSION LINES. SO BECAUSE OF THAT, THEY HAVE AGREED, UM, THAT IN THEY HAVE ENTERED INTO THIS AGREEMENT WITH US, UM, PENDING YOUR APPROVAL THAT THEY WILL, AT THEIR COST, UM, MOVE THE TRANSMISSION LINE AWAY FROM THAT AREA AND OFF OF THE, TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PROPERTY IN A WAY THAT BENEFITS THEM AS WELL AS US. SO, UM, NO, NO OBJECTIONS FROM, FROM STAFF OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS? THOSE IN FAVOR THE MOTION PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING THE HAND. IT IS UNANIMOUS. LARRY, YOU THANK YOU, SIR. UM, UM, AND THEN, UM, NINE [9.b. A Resolution authorizing the County Administrator to enter into a License Agreement with the State of South Carolina for the repair of a “Flywheel” artifact to be installed and displayed at Fort Fremont Preserve. (FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact to the County.) - Dylan Kidd, Interim ACA Development (5 minutes) ] B, A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR TO ENTER INTO A LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA TO, FOR THE REPAIR OF A FLYWHEEL AND, UH, ARTIFACT TO BE INSTALLED AND DISPLAYED AT FORT FREMONT PRESERVE. AND THAT'S YOU? YES, SIR. OKAY. STILL MOVED. SECOND IT AND MOTION AND SECOND IT. GO AHEAD. THIS IS A FUN ONE. UM, THE FRIENDS OF FORT FREMONT HAVE FOUND, UH, A FLYWHEEL, WHICH IS, UH, AN OBJECT THAT WAS USED. IT HAS TWO WHEELS ON THE END. IT WAS USED TO TRANSPORT MACHINERY AROUND THE TIME OF THE FORT BECAUSE OF WHERE IT WAS FOUND, UM, OUT ON THE BEACH. IT IS TECHNICALLY THE PROPERTY OF THE STATE. HOWEVER, THE STATE HAS, UH, AGREED TO THIS AGREEMENT WITH, UM, WITH US FOR THE FRIENDS TO CLEAN, RESTORE AND DISPLAY THE FLYWHEEL AT FORT FREMONT. UM, NO FISCAL IMPACT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT IT'S A, A COOL ARTIFACT AND THERE IS A PICTURE OF IT. ANY QUESTION, COMMENTS? UH, I APPRECIATE IT. I DON'T LIKE THE STATE, UM, AGREEMENT. UM, I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT, UM, IT SEEMS TOO ONE-SIDED IN MY OPINION, BUT, UM, IS THAT STANDARD FOR THE STATE? WE, WE GET THAT SINCE I HAVEN'T HAD ONE OF THESE AGREEMENTS BEFORE MYSELF. IT'S KIND OF AN AN INTERESTING ONE-OFF SITUATION HERE, BUT IT, IT IS TECHNICALLY THEIR PROPERTY, SO WE WEREN'T INCLINED TO FIGHT 'EM TOO HARD ON IT. BUT IT'S OWNED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. WELL, TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, BUT THE WAY IT'S A WEB OF JURISDICTIONS CONTAINED IN THERE. I UNDERSTAND. SO EVERYTHING IN THERE. YEAH. THE THING I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT IS THAT, UH, WE ONLY GET 10 YEARS. UM, AND THEY ALSO CAN ASK FOR IT IN 30 DAYS. JUST SEEM ONE SIDED TO ME. BUT ANYWAY, UM, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING THE HAND. IT IS A UNANIMOUS. OKAY. AND [9.c. An Ordinance amending the Beaufort County Code of Ordinances, Chapter74 - Building and Building Regulations, Section 74-64, Adoption of Building Codes (Amends Code of Ordinances to adopt the 2024 State Mandated Code Editons). (FISCAL IMPACT: No Fiscal Impact) - Michael Brantley, Director Building Services, 5 minutes ] THE LAST ONE, UM, IS AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE BEFOR COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCE, UH, CHAPTER 74, BUILDING AND BUILDING REGULATIONS SECTION 74 DASH 64 AS ADOPTED, UH, ADOPTION OF THE CODES BILLING CODES. UM, THAT'S IS, THIS IS STANDARD AT THIS TIME? UM, IT HAPPENS EVERY, USUALLY EVERY THREE YEARS. THREE YEARS. THERE'S A NEW UPDATE EVERY THREE YEARS. THE STATE LOOKS AT IT FOR 18 MONTHS TO TWO YEARS, MAKES THEIR CHANGES, AND THEN THEY GIVE US DIRECTION. OKAY. BEFORE, UM, MR. UM, BRENT LEE STARTS, UM, THE CHAIR WOULD TAKE, ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO PUT SO MOVED. OKAY. AND WHO'S THE SECONDED BY? OKAY. YOU GOT IT. MR. PASSMAN AND MR. DAWSON. OKAY. [01:05:01] GO AHEAD, MR. BRENTLEY. YEAH. THE SOUTH CAROLINA BUILDING CODE COUNCIL HAS ADOPTED THE LATEST EDITIONS OF THE NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CONSTRUCTION CODES IN DEPENDENCIES. UH, NEW CODES WILL BE IMPLEMENTED ON JANUARY 1ST, 2027. SO THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS REQUIRES ALL COUNTIES MUNICIPALITIES TO ADOPT THESE UM, CODES WITH THE APPROVED SA CAROLINA MODIFICATIONS. UH, THIS YEAR WE'LL HAVE THE 2024 INTERNATIONAL BUILDING, RESIDENTIAL FIRE, PLUMBING, MECHANICAL FUEL GAS, THE 2009 ENERGY COMPLIANCE CODE, AND THE 2023 NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE. AND IF YOU NOTICE ON THE BOTTOM, WE ALSO HAVE THE INTERNATIONAL, UM, EXISTING BUILDING CODE. AND NEW TO THIS LIST IS INTERNATIONAL SWIMMINGS POOL AND SPA CODE. THE BOTH OF THOSE CODES ARE REFERENCED IN THE BUILDING AND RESIDENTIAL CODES, BUT THE STATE SAYS WE CANNOT ENFORCE THEM UNLESS WE ADOPT THEM SEPARATELY. ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. BRADLEY? JUST, JUST A GO AHEAD. MY OWN CURIOSITY, IT SAYS STATE MANDATED MANDATED. WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON'T ADOPT THEM? UH, INSURANCE RATES GO THROUGH THE CEILING. 'CAUSE EVERYTHING, YES, WE ARE, WE ARE JUDGED, UM, THROUGH ISO HOW WE MANDATE BUILDING CODES AND EVERYTHING. OUR RATING IS WHAT'S PASSED ON TO THE INSURANCE CARRIERS. AND THEN THAT'S HOW INSURANCE RATES. SO. ALRIGHT. RIGHT. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, AS OUR ATTORNEY, I THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. ANY OTHER QUESTION? THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING THE HAND. MR. MCALLEN? THANK YOU SIR. UM, THAT EXHAUSTS OUR, UM, AGENDA ITEM. UM, THIS, UNLESS THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE, MR. MOORE? I THINK WE'RE GOOD. WE HAVE OUR DIRECTION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THIS MEETING'S ADJOURNED. UH, OKAY. I WENT OVER SEVEN MINUTES. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.