By Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com
The Lee County Board of Commissioners voted down a 180-day moratorium on further data center development Monday night.
The pause, proposed by Democratic Commissioner Robert Reives Sr., wouldn’t have applied to a data center project on Lower Moncure Road which has been a source of controversy since it was proposed in June. Even with that project administratively approved, Reives floated a moratorium on additional development in Lee County, saying “the process is flawed and should have been handled differently.”
“The economic development situation is one we should take a closer look at,” Reives said. “In this case, we’re dealing with decisions the public never had a chance to have a say in.”
Democrat Mark Lovick joined Reives in supporting the moratorium. Republicans Eric Davidson, Andre Knecht, Samantha Martin, and Kirk Smith, along with Democrat Cameron Sharpe voted against.
Reives made the motion after a lengthy discussion on data centers during which the board called on Brady Herman, a Chapel Hill attorney specializing in zoning and planning matters whom they recently retained.
Herman advised the board against enacting a moratorium, saying state law requires specific findings outlining the problems necessitating a pause, alternatives that have proven inadequate and a schedule for addressing those problems. He also questioned the need for a moratorium six months after the county adopted specific regulations governing data centers.
“The problem in terms of timing of a moratorium now — the function is when you have a unique land use, like data centers, and you have zero regulations in place. There’s nothing to prevent what can be added (to the UDO), but you don’t need a moratorium because you adopted standards six months ago,” he said.
Herman also said additions to the UDO may not trigger “down zoning,” or changing zoning rules to reduce development rights or permitted uses on a property.
Monday’s data center discussion was one of the first times the board as a whole has openly tackled the issue since Virginia-based PointOne proposed its facility on Lower Moncure Road in June. Since then, opponents have been a regular presence at board meetings, voicing a number of objections during public comment periods. The county’s planning staff issued administrative approval on September 25, and the county board issued a lengthy statement affirming the project will move forward on October 1.
That statement was attached to copies of the agenda for Monday’s meeting, and “data center discussion” was the first regular item on that agenda. Martin began by having staff present a map showing other parcels in the county which would theoretically be capable, based on size, zoning status and availability of utilities, of hosting a project similar to the Lower Moncure one.
“There’s only one site that’s zoned light industrial and not currently being developed that’s big enough,” County Manager Lisa Minter told the board. “There’s not enough power at that substation to power a data center.”
She said without a rezoning approval, there aren’t any other sites that could host a data center as large as the one proposed for Lower Moncure Road.
Reives later said that didn’t totally reassure him, noting that “they’re not all going to be 400 acres. It could be on 20 acres.”
Reives also questioned Eddie Oldham, CEO of the Central Electric Membership Corporation, about whether the area’s electrical infrastructure could accommodate additional data center development. CEMC serves the Lower Moncure Road area and issued a “will serve” letter indicating it has the capacity to power the project without adverse impacts to its rate payers.
“Our ‘will serve’ is just for building one,” Oldham said, referencing a conceptual master plan submitted by PointOne that shows additional buildings. “For a second phase, there would have to be a transmission study, and if upgrades are needed, a data center would have to pay for those upgrades.”
Reives said at the time of his motion that he thought the board needed “time to digest what we’ve done.”
“I’m not opposed to anything we’ve done (regarding the county’s UDO), but it doesn’t satisfy my concerns about a small county,” he said. “We’re getting to a point where we need to take a breather.”
When Reives said he believed the process by which the data center project was introduced and approved was flawed, Republican Kirk Smith pressed him for specifics. Reives began answering, only to be cut off by Smith, who repeated his question.
“I’m about to tell you if you’d shut up for a second,” Reives shot back.
As has happened at most of the board’s meetings in recent months, several citizens spoke during the public comment period, reiterating their opposition to the Lower Moncure Road project and data centers in general. Some of those speakers on Monday credited the board with finally having a conversation about the issue, but said it came later than it should have.
“I applaud y’all for this,” said Mark Mansfield, who lives near the site. “But this should have been done a long time ago.”
Michelle Eaves said that even with the Lower Moncure project approved and moving forward, the commissioners shouldn’t let the issue go.
“The window for this project may have closed,” she said. “But the policy window for protecting the county has not. Please act now.”
Reives is right. Herman is not right. Minter did not lecture too much, thank you.
Herman is exactly right. If you NC planning law you would know that. Any attempt to take Data Centers out of a “by right use” in Light Industrial is a down zoning in all Light Industrial Districts. Only idiots and people want a show for the public do that. What you can do is apply extra requirements, but you don’t tuck them into the zoning code like an obvious fool would do, you put them in your development code under sounds, noises, smells, and nusicances and address them when someone submits a site plan and building plan.
Planning board voted 4 to 3 on rezoning then the people that live in the area showed up and only one person that lives in the area spoke for the rezoning. But it was rezoned anyway!! And now look what happened!! What would you do if it was in your back yard!!
Be careful of addressing individuals as idiots. It reflects on your ability to communicate. It shows that your behavior is more in line with being a paid troll that is being sent to rabidly attack any one who is not following your assigned thought process.
In the mean time be more quiet, it is needed from you.
Remember people we are actually these commissioners bosses they work for us and we the tax payer pays them also the county attorney and everyone on that stage. They have forgotten this. Take the time to go vote for anyone running against them November 3rd. Public comment is a disgrace to us we have only 3 minutes to talk a alarm starts going off and you have to stop. We can’t ask questions or are giving no answers just comment and vent!!
No, they do not work for YOU they work as Representatives for County as a whole, or perhaps just an entire District, but not YOU in the sense of they are their to do your bidding. Understand the political system in which you live.
Like I said they work for the people who elect them and the people they elected them can fire them by voting them out!! Plane and simple!!
That’s obviously what they meant, Bob. No one’s been asking the assholes to come clean our houses and mow our damn grass. We simply expect OUR representatives to act in OUR best interests, rather than those of the Monied Minority.
To be clear, “OUR”= Citizens who live throughout SanLee, NOT just one little handful of DC Site neighbors. This has NEVER been a NIMBY thing, as you seem to be implying. Residents from all districts overwhelmingly called for a less rushed, less *hushed*, better educated, more careful/responsible/respectful decision making process— on what was/what is— an incredibly weighty issue.
Wrong. There are elections for a very specific purpose.
I would like to thank Mr. Cloud for his support of Data Centers. Every time he posts on The Rant, he drives the need for data centers even more. Keep up the good work Mr. Cloud.
I’m not sure I’m understanding your comment correctly — but, YES, we all use technology that requires DCs. And, YES, many of us ARE becoming over-reliant on cloud storage for our freaking pics of our… dogs and crap… which does require *more/bigger* DCs 🫤
But this sudden “URGENT” need for 1000s more DCs IS NOT DRIVEN BY THE PUBLIC’S USE OF TECHNOLOGY. It’s, as usual, a product of Big Business. THEY want AI-Everything and a million stupid Apps. Because machines are cheaper than employees. Americans- all the regular Joes- do NOT support the unbridled growth of AI. It’s well documented.
Most of us don’t like how AI bots have been shoved down our throats with factory-installed software we usually can’t disable, much less uninstall. We don’t like how the Internet was purposely disabled by redesigned search engines that don’t work anymore. We don’t want to install *another* app every time we need to order some damn socks, pay our electric bill, renew our vehicle registration. We sure as hell don’t want to be forced to waste an hour with phone and chat bots every single time we have to contact “Customer Support”.
THAT is why “we” need all these DCs.
I am totally against data centers!! Man I been fighting it for over a year now!!
What is the rush to build data centers in Lee County? They are being rejected around the country for good reasons. If they are so crucial, the opportunity will not go away. It is hard to predict the future of data storage and processing needs. In ten years will these data centers be superseded by new technologies and Lee County will be saddled with a dinosaur. Instead of a place people want to live, we will be a dumping ground. The Board of Commissioners is being short sighted and selling our future.
Maybe the answer to that question is they need a cloudy data collection center near the source and most everywhere else around here to Raleigh, people have already said no. So go to Lee county and put something there. 90 Megawatt is not that small. The power needed was talked about in 2025 and so was the location. The commissioners refusal to consider the citizens is alarming. This indicates an influence. Both financially and political.
Thank you, Lovick. And, especially, THANK YOU, Reives. It takes a lot to be the lone voice of reason 🤍
Did not Davidson a month (?) ago propose a Moratorium? Then he heard what Herman later declared. So why did Davidson vote the way he did in the end? Was he used to introduce the Herman argument against the Moratorium? Just asking for a friend.