Residents urge Rocky Mount council to halt rezoning for data centers amid drought and community concerns

Dozens of residents used the City Council's public-comment period on June 9 to press the council to halt rezoning that would allow AI and hyperscale data centers in and near Rocky Mount, warning of water stress, higher utility bills and adverse health and environmental consequences.

Katie Zimmerman, Pamlico Tar Riverkeeper with Sound Rivers, asked the council to pause consideration of rezoning on Arrow and Dozer Roads and to require non-water-intensive cooling systems, reporting on water use and enforceable community benefits agreements. "Without transparency and reporting of existing data centers, it's difficult to know the exact impacts...evaporative cooling can use up to 5 million gallons of drinking water from our rivers every day," Zimmerman said.

Multiple speakers echoed concerns about power, water and economic trade-offs. Joe Hester referenced pending state legislation, Senate Bill 730, saying the Ratepayer Protection Act will require site assessments and eliminate some incentives — arguing the council should wait for state rules to take effect before granting rezoning. "If this bill passes...it's currently being considered in the Senate," Hester said, urging the council to "wait and watch."

Other commenters cited independent studies and local examples: Christina Ru pointed to analyses that found electricity costs in some areas near data centers increased dramatically and warned of higher CO2 emissions; Rolanda Williams described potential noise, light and air-pollution impacts on quality of life and wildlife. A speaker identified as Momtazi urged the council to ban data centers outright, calling them an extractive model that concentrates profits while imposing environmental burdens on poorer communities.

Council members did not respond with a coordinated defense of rezoning during the public-comment period; the hearing served primarily as a forum for residents to register opposition and to request stronger conditions, reporting requirements and moratoriums or bans. Several speakers also urged requiring data centers to bring their own power capacity or to defer rezoning until state-level protections are in place.

What happens next: Residents urged the council to withhold rezoning approvals and to require stricter local conditions; the council did not vote on rezoning during the June 9 meeting. Some speakers referenced pending state action (Senate Bill 730) that could change local authority and conditions for data-center approvals.