By Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com

The Lee County Board of Commissioners appears set to move forward with consideration of a rule set governing how data centers might operate if they choose to locate here after a Monday workshop which included a presentation from local planning officials.

The move comes after a meeting in March at which the board voted 6-1 to have county staff begin writing language that would create a moratorium – a temporary pause while rules are drafted – on data centers and fracking. Now, it appears the commissioners will instead pursue the path which would lead to the adoption of standards governing data centers in the local Unified Development Ordinance.

Six months ago, few in Lee County government had given much thought to what the data center industry – which stores extremely high volumes of digital information used in everything from streaming to online banking, social media websites, and even artificial intelligence – might look like if it ever came to Lee County.

But late in 2025 large groups of citizens began attending meetings of both the commissioners and the Sanford City Council, asking for a moratorium on fracking and data centers. That movement began in response to the publication of a story which revealed that Alamance County-based Deep River Data – a company with “connections to the cryptocurrency industry” – had inquired with state officials about accessing natural gas from an old test well in northern Lee County and using it to power an AI data center in the area.

What the commissioners heard on Monday was the first draft of proposed additions to the UDO which would govern data center construction and operations if adopted. The recommendations came from joint staff and were presented by Sanford-Lee County Planning Director Marshall Downey and Zoning Administrator Thomas Mierisch, who provided a guided tour of the document’s most important features. Downey gave a timeline of planning staff’s research into the issue, which began in late 2025 in response to reports about Deep River Data’s plans (as of early April, no one has submitted any plans for a data center in Lee County to either state or local officials).

The six-page document provides, for example, that the principal structures of an operating data center can be located no closer to an existing residential or multi-family dwelling than 500 linear feet, and at least 100 feet away from any publicly maintained road. No prefabricated metal or vinyl siding would be allowed for the facility’s exterior facades, and any use of shipping containers or Conex boxes are not allowed.

The proposed standards would pay particular attention to the amount of noise generated when a center becomes operational. Prior to the start of any construction, a licensed third-party acoustical engineer can be retained to establish a baseline value of what noise levels were before any ground can be disturbed, and as many as two other studies per year can be conducted as part of a community-oriented claim of excess sounds.

If noise at any data center site is found to be over the agreed upon limit, the company can be fined up to $10,000 for each time a completed noise study is required until sound levels return to 65 decibels or less, with the proceeds from those civil penalties being awarded to the unit of local government having jurisdiction at the site.

There are still many unanswered questions about how all this would work if adopted. An online artificial intelligence trade publication called Silicon Report says 43 data centers are operational in North Carolina, and 52 more either under construction or announced.

An update to the UDO would require more than just a vote of the commissioners – it would also have to be adopted by the Sanford City Council and the Broadway Town Board. Sanford City Government published an FAQ on data centers on March 18, as well as the first draft of the proposed rule set. The Board of Commissioners will further discuss the next matter at its next regular meeting on April 20.