Angry residents speak against application to build data center
Residents in Lee County, North Carolina, expressed strong opposition at a commissioners meeting to a proposed $900 million data center by PointOne Data Centers on Lower Moncure Road. The company is seeking approval for a 300,000 square-foot facility on a 430-acre site already zoned for Light Industrial use. Opponents called for a temporary moratorium on the project.
Residents of Lee County, North Carolina, gathered in large numbers at a recent Lee County Board of Commissioners meeting to voice strong opposition against a proposed $900 million data center project. The proposal, from PointOne Data Centers, seeks approval to construct a 300,000 square-foot facility on a 430-acre site on Lower Moncure Road, currently zoned for Light Industrial use.
Eric Evanson, a retired federal attorney, highlighted the scale of the proposed building, stating it would be larger than Raleigh's Lenovo Center, and urged commissioners to pause the project and enact a temporary moratorium of 90 to 180 days. This proposal is scheduled to be reviewed by the Sanford/Lee County/Broadway Technical Review Committee on June 25.
Many of the attendees had previously opposed a separate data center proposal earlier this year, which prompted county planners to develop new data center regulations that were subsequently approved by the commissioners. Despite the new regulations, community sentiment remains strongly against new data center developments in the area.