Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Rowan County commissioners deny ‘data center deal’ as residents press water, noise and health concerns
Summary
Residents at a March 16 public-comment session urged commissioners to block or scrutinize what they described as a proposed data center on Long Ferry Road, citing water use, noise, health and utility-rate risks; the commission said no data-center offers exist and outlined data, permitting and mitigation questions it would require from any prospective developer.
The Rowan County Commission faced a packed public-comment session on March 16 after residents raised alarms about a proposed industrial project on Long Ferry Road described by several speakers as a large data center.
Chair Greg, who said he lives on Long Ferry Road, told the crowd "there is no data center deal" and that no data centers had made offers to the county; he urged patience and promised the county would post a consolidated timeline and all public notices online. "We have made no offers to any data centers," Greg said, adding that county staff would require detailed studies and commitments before any decision would be made.
Why it matters: Speakers said the siting and scale of the project could affect drinking-water supplies, property values and public health in a largely agricultural area. If a data center with open-loop cooling were built,…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
