Current status
$2,000
filing fee raised
5–2
vote against the moratorium
On September 28, NDCRH delivered a proposed UDO text amendment to Forsyth County Planning. Residents had also raised the full $2,000 filing fee.
The county declined to accept the amendment for processing. County officials said provisions limiting where hyperscale data centers could locate and restricting development density would conflict with North Carolina’s down-zoning law, G.S. 160D-601. Because the application was not accepted, the county did not accept the filing fee.
That same day, commissioners considered a proposed six-month pause on new large-scale data center approvals. The proposal did not advance, on a 5–2 vote.
The result: Forsyth County’s existing data center zoning framework remains in place. The proposed amendment and moratorium did not advance, and the underlying zoning issue remains unresolved.
Why modern data centers need different rules
Forsyth County currently classifies data centers under Services A, a broad category of business and personal service uses. Examples of uses currently grouped under Services A include:
- barber shops
- beauty shops
- shoe repair
- photographic studios
- watch and jewelry repair
- furniture repair
- custom picture framing
- small equipment repair
Modern data centers are not the same kind of land use as a barber shop, photography studio, or a small equipment repair shop.
The classification comes from an older framework for computer and data-processing uses. Since then, the scale and infrastructure demands of larger modern data centers have changed dramatically.
Large data centers can involve:
- Major electrical infrastructure
- Water demand
- Backup generators
- Cooling equipment
- Persistent noise
- Security fencing
- Large-scale land impacts
- Traffic and construction impacts
That zoning gap is why residents drafted the proposed amendment. State down-zoning law blocked the county from accepting it as filed, but the underlying land-use problem remains.
About NDCRH
No Data Center Rural Hall is a resident-led group formed during the fight against Project Iron Spur, the proposed hyperscale data center that would have been built across from Rural Hall Town Hall.
On July 30, 2026, Forsyth County commissioners denied that rezoning. Residents then researched the zoning gap, drafted a proposed UDO text amendment, raised the $2,000 filing fee, and delivered the proposal. The county declined to accept it under state down-zoning law.
NDCRH still helps residents stay informed. We put source materials in one place and keep track of public meetings. We show people how to reach the officials who decide these cases. When another data center proposal shows up aimed at a rural community, we help neighbors organize and push back.
We are nonpartisan, resident-led, and focused on protecting Rural Hall and Forsyth County.