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Rowan County residents urge strict rules, transparency during data center moratorium hearing
Summary
At a July 26 public hearing on a one-year data-center moratorium, residents pushed Rowan County commissioners to adopt strict zoning, require developer-paid infrastructure, ban nondisclosure agreements and demand independent studies on noise, heat and water impacts.
Dozens of Rowan County residents urged the Board of Commissioners on July 26 to adopt strict limits and strong transparency requirements for any future data center development during a public hearing on the county's temporary moratorium.
Samantha Hassell told commissioners that "any zoning around data centers should be done as a special requirement under industrial use zoning," and asked that community members be included directly in drafting the ordinance. Several speakers called for special requirements for hyperscale facilities, stricter notice to nearby residents and statutory protections that would keep costs for new power and water infrastructure off the tax roll.
Speakers detailed specific proposals. Mark Ortiz proposed numerical limits he said are enforceable at permitting: "20 megawatts maximum, a 100,000 square feet of server room maximum, no liquid to the servers." Multiple commenters, including Colette Berg and others, warned of local temperature rises and health impacts tied to large air-cooled condenser arrays. Jalen Johnson and Michael Pope asked for environmental impact studies, independent pre- and post-construction monitoring and developer-funded mitigation such as on-site solar to offset increased electric demand.
Chair opened the hearing by reminding the public the moratorium enacted May 4, 2026 is intended to give the county time to write standards. After listening to comments, the chair said county staff would meet with community representatives in the first week of August to begin detailed ordinance work and return progress reports to the board.
The hearing captured recurring community demands: a clear distinction in zoning between ordinary and hyperscale data centers; no tax incentives or abatements for such projects; mandatory developer funding for new substations or transmission upgrades; stronger notification and public hearings before zoning changes; acoustic buffering and vegetated setbacks; and a ban on nondisclosure agreements that limit public transparency. Mae Mac summarized several of these points: "There should be no cost shifting to residential or small business rate payers."
Next steps: the board said staff will convene a meeting with volunteer community groups and experts to begin translating public input into draft ordinance language; the moratorium remains in effect while those rules are developed.
