Pitt County, NC Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)

Section 8(UUUU), Data Processing Facility (Large Scale), is one of the few specialized uses in Pitt County's Zoning Ordinance that carries no by-right pathway at all. The use is confined to the RA, GC, HC, LI and GI districts, and in every one of those districts the applicant must go through Conditional Zoning District approval under Section 14(G), meaning the Planning Board and Board of Commissioners review the specific site plan and can attach conditions before construction can begin.

Structures and equipment, apart from transmission lines and utility poles, cannot exceed 35 feet in height. The use-separation standard is the strictest of the specialized uses in this part of the ordinance: all equipment and structures must sit at least 50 feet from the facility's own site-plan boundary, and any church, school, or residence within a quarter mile, 1,320 feet, of the facility perimeter must be identified and mapped on the site plan. The submittal package also has to include an acoustical engineer's study describing the anticipated noise level and mitigation measures such as sound walls, baffles or added separation, on top of the narrative, site plan, structural certifications and signatures the county requires for other large-scale uses. All roads serving the site must be wide enough for emergency vehicle access as determined by the Pitt County Fire Marshal, and the facility needs an eight-foot security fence, taller than the six-foot fence required for solar farms and truck lots, plus a Section 10(H) buffer yard screening it from adjoining properties. Off-grid systems are exempt from the utility-notification step, but any grid-connected system needs proof the electric utility approved the interconnection before installation.