Six months, over 400 emails and dozens of public speakers later, the Forsyth County Commission has voted down a proposed hyperscale data center campus in Rural Hall.
Developers had been looking to rezone roughly 129 acres of land across from the town hall for “Project Iron Spur.”
But Rural Hall residents and the county planning board urged against it, citing concerns about environmental impacts, noise and property values.
The overwhelming opposition drove many of the commissioners’ decisions.
“I don't know that we make the decision that this is something that they ought to have and we just cram it down everybody's throat," said Commissioner Gray Wilson.
Commissioners made it clear that they’re not anti-data center, but need to determine where the sites would be most appropriate.
The final vote was 5 to 2. Don Martin and Gloria Whisenhunt were the only votes in support of the proposal.