By Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com
The Lee County Board of Commissioners turned back two separate attempts Monday night to slow down a proposal for a data center facility on Lower Moncure Road, rejecting calls from residents who packed a meeting demanding immediate action..
More than 150 people crowded into the county’s meeting space, filling seats, aisles, and doorways as 21 speakers addressed commissioners over a two hour public comment period.
A surprise resolution falls flat
Board Chair Samantha Martin, a Republican, opened the meeting by presenting a surprise resolution — not listed on the agenda and not shared with the press beforehand — urging the North Carolina General Assembly to “research and enact legislation for data centers of all sizes” to address construction and operational concerns statewide. Copies were to be sent to Sen. Jim Burgin and Rep. John Sauls.
But with the legislature nearing the end of its 2025–26 session and unlikely to take up new issues before the November elections, the resolution landed poorly. A visible wave of frustration swept through the room, followed by jeers.
“This resolution is just bullcrap,” said Lower Moncure Road resident Donna Evenson. “You know it could be years before state government ever does anything. Y’all need to do something now.”
A moratorium motion stopped cold
A second attempt surfaced near the end of the meeting, after most of the crowd had left.
Eric Davidson, a Republican newcomer appointed last month to replace outgoing Commissioner Taylor Vorbeck, said he was struck by residents’ concerns about constant noise from 24 hour data center operations and its potential effects on human health and wildlife.
“I’m wondering if there is a way, using the latest technologies, to mitigate those sounds while we do our research on setting standards that are appropriate,” he said, before offering a motion to impose a 90 day moratorium on new data centers.
County Attorney Whitney Parrish advised that commissioners lacked authority to enact a moratorium without following state-mandated procedures.
“There are specific facts that have to be stated, there has to be a public hearing, there have to be notices published,” she said. “Those things that have yet to be done prevent the board from voting on a moratorium this evening.”
Davidson withdrew his motion.
Residents voice anger, fear, and frustration
Speakers throughout the night reflected a mix of longstanding concerns and new anxieties.
Ron Hewitt of Rosemont Lane said he and his wife moved to Lee County 50 years ago for its quality of life, which he feels has eroded as companies are recruited for reasons other than community benefit.
Eric Evenson accused local officials of keeping residents in the dark about a proposed 90 megawatt data center near Cumnock, asking, “is there a secret government going on in Lee County?”
Debbie Hall raised alarms about the Enbridge natural gas pipeline planned for eastern Chatham County, citing company literature linking the project to the proposed CyrusOne data center on Lower Moncure Road and plans to drill beneath Deep River.
But the most heated remarks came from Mark Mansfield, a third generation resident of Lower Moncure Road.
“You can end this thing right now by enacting a moratorium,” he erupted as he pounded the podium. “I’m thinking about selling every damn thing I’ve got because of y’all.”
“I know it’s hard to wait”
As the public portion of the meeting closed after more than three hours, Democratic commissioner Robert Reives addressed the remaining audience members — and those watching online — about the slow pace of the board’s response.
“We are trying to do this the right way,” he said. “It only makes it worse if we go about it the wrong way. I know it’s hard to wait. But I’d rather get it right, and I believe we will get it right. We are just not going to do it haphazardly.”
Thank you Mr. Sullins for your article and covering these crucial times we are having and fighting on Lower Moncure Rd. One thing good is we are becoming a strong community and bringing on allies from everywhere. This data center will tear our lives apart giving us many sleepless nights and the stress is enormous! Jimmy Randolph (SAGA) Kirk Smith done this to us right behind our backs! We are going to give it all we got to vote Kirk out in Nov. But now (SAGA) is operating behind closed doors and in the shadows without any regulations and answering to no one ! And we the tax payers are paying them along with private contributions probably from corporations they represent. We don’t how much. But the fact is SAGA can come in anywhere in this county right in your back yard behind your back get land rezoned under false pretenses. Not be held accountable and leave you with the consequences!!
I don’t know who is supposedly advising the group on or around Lower Moncure Road but it’s been an industrial corridor for decades. The Airport, the Overhead Transmission Mains, the Railroads, the old Coal Fired Electric Plant, the Brick Pits, Gravel Pits, Glue board plant, and the City’s water plant combined by decades of CP&L ownership have rendered the area industrial despite the greenery of some trees and some farms. You have a lot of venom for SAGA but Central Electric began work on this three years ago. To begin that work they had to have an understanding from Duke Power for the raw power to come to their new substation. When the City installed a sewer lift station on LMR did you miss that? When the airport site was announced 35 years ago folks with the City clearly spelled out the future of the area. The actual usage of a data center in a zoning concept is one thing and is regulated by one set of NC Laws by which the County and City are bound. A noise ordinance, separate and apart from zoning, is a different animal, can be enforced and likely would be vigorously. enforced by the City since they own property next to the site.
I’m not sure a data center would even devalue the land in the area because as farmland under present use discount it has very little value. Industrial or commercial land has great value. Once completed that part of LMR will have access to city sewer and city water. It may not be what you wanted but it allows you to sell out and move towards Asheboro Zoo which is where you have to go to get out of the Triangle’s growth footprint.
I am suspicious of this method being employed.
What method is being employed? The private developers, real estate people, and electric folks getting their legal ducks in a row before publicly surfacing anything? Lower Moncure Road to Lower River Road would make for a fantastic regional theme park area. As the kids yell and scream and bring money into Lee County the nearby residents can sell out at commercial rates and move toward the Zoo, Governors Creek, or Carbonton and get away from the urbanization that has been coming down the road for 60 years.