Mayodan residents urge pause on data centers as council prepares zoning text amendment

Residents at the Mayodan Town Council meeting on April 13 urged elected officials to pause or more tightly regulate potential data‑center development, citing long-term environmental and quality‑of‑life risks.

Cindy Johnson of 103 N. 8th Avenue told the council that while data centers can provide fiscal benefits, those gains must be weighed against high electricity and water demand, heat generation, air-quality impacts and continuous low‑frequency noise that small communities like Mayodan may not be able to absorb. Johnny Carter, a recent Mayodan homeowner, described large data centers’ heavy resource use—electricity comparable to the needs of tens of thousands of households and water usage that can reach millions of gallons annually for cooling—and raised questions about whether Mayodan’s wastewater treatment can safely accept potential discharges from closed‑loop cooling systems.

The concerns prompted discussion among council members about proactive regulation. Councilmember Buck Shelton asked whether the town should revisit rules for data centers and similar high‑resource users; Councilmember Letitia Goard urged a broader approach that would treat any business with significant demands on town infrastructure consistently. Town Manager Melody Shuler said staff is preparing a text amendment that would address high‑resource commercial uses, including whether such uses should require a special‑use permit. Shuler said the proposal will be presented for Council review at the next meeting.

The comments and staff response leave open the next steps: Council has not adopted any moratorium or regulatory change yet, but the record of public concern and the manager’s commitment to draft ordinance language mean the issue is likely to return to the agenda for formal consideration.