DANBURY, N.C. (July 10, 2026) — Last night, after a moving tribute to the region’s people, rural character, and cultural history, the Stokes County Planning Board voted 6-1 to recommend a six-month moratorium on data center development.
The meeting was standing-room-only, packed with community members eager to make their voices heard. The Planning Board’s decision is intended to give the county time to research and develop protective standards for all future data center proposals. This moratorium would also likely impact the planned 1848-acre hyperscale “Project Delta” AI data center.
The next step is for the Stokes County Commission to weigh in and make a final decision, which they could do as soon as Monday, on whether to finalize the moratorium or to move forward with allowing data center development before more protective standards are in place. The Commission voted 3-2 in January to allow data center uses as a matter of right, but voided that action following a lawsuit by community members and nonprofits represented by Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and the Southern Environmental Law Center.
“I was sitting on my back porch late yesterday trying to prepare for this meeting, listening to the birds, watching the sunlight glistening on the tree leaves, listening to the distant thunder, feeling the freshness in the air after the rain,” said Ronnie Tilley, Chair of the Stokes County Planning Board, at the meeting. “It reminded me of why I live here. We have a special county. It is a county of beauty. And for those that have worked in the city, many of us can escape all of the noise, all of the traffic congestion, and enjoy a lot of nature.
“I believe everyone here finds something special about where we live. I am pretty sure that every one of you sitting back there in that audience finds something special about this county. This board has some important decisions, and because this is a special place, we have to have confidence in our decisions.”
Tilley explained that the county needs time to ensure the highest standards related to data center permitting. Those standards would need to include regular testing for pollution and contamination, robust fire safety, water consumption projections and monitoring, safe fuel storage for generator operation, and other measures to maintain the safety and character of the county.
“The Stokes County community has shown up at an impressive scale on this issue time and time again, and last night’s vote was proof that the planning board was listening,” said Cliff Robins, Senior Counsel for Environmental Justice at SCSJ. “The Planning Board’s recommendations to the County Commission are a thoughtful community-driven way forward that would give the county the time it needs to better understand these unprecedented industrial facilities and ensure that the Stokes County community is well looked after now and in the future.”
Community members and environmental justice attorneys will be available for interviews at the Monday hearing.
WHAT: Stokes County Board of Commissioners Meeting
WHEN: 6:00 p.m. Monday, July 13, 2026
WHERE: Stokes County Administration Building, 2nd Floor Commissioners Chambers, 1014 Main Street Hwy 89, Danbury, NC 27016
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Southern Coalition for Social Justice came together in 2007 to give Black, Brown, and low-income people better resources in the fight for justice across the South. We are lawyers, social scientists, and communications professionals working to dismantle racism and oppression in the criminal legal system, in our environment, and at the ballot box. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.