ROCKINGHAM — Residents will get to have their say on a proposed data center next month — after hearing the city’s side at the August meeting.
The Rockingham City Council on Tuesday set a public hearing for the September meeting regarding the rezoning of property on Old Cheraw Highway — recently purchased by Terra Nexus Land Fund 1, LLC — from high density residential to a conditional light industrial.
The two largest tracts of the 165 acres were annexed and rezoned for high density residential in 2025, with initial plans for a subdivision. One of those tracts was owned by state Rep. Ben Moss, who recently released a public statement.
However, Assistant City Manager John Massey explained that developers reached out to the city this spring saying that the partnering homebuilders indicated they were “hesitant” due to the proximity to the wastewater treatment plant — so Terra Nexus “pivoted” to other development interests, including a data center.
Unlike conventional rezoning, Massey explained that this is a conditional zoning request.
Under traditional zoning, any uses permitted under that zone could be located there. According to the Uniform Development Ordinance, a traditional light industrial district is “intended to accommodate and provide areas for wholesale activities, industrial research, warehousing and light manufacturing operations.”
Russ Fincham talks to the rest of the crowd prior to the August 2026 meeting of the Rockingham City Council.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
Prior to the start of the meeting, Russ Fincham — who has been vocal in his opposition of data centers at recent meetings — told the crowd in the audience that state law prohibits land from being zoned back down from industrial to residential.
“We’ll lose that land forever,” Fincham said.
Massey acknowledged that, but reiterated that with conditional rezoning, the board would be “locking them in to doing only the data center” as proposed in the site plan.
“If the data center falls through, to do anything else with that property, they have got to come back to you for a rezoning — period,” Massey told the city council.
Even if Terra Nexus sells the property, the land is still subject to those zoning restrictions, Massey said later.
The proposal includes four single-story buildings of nearly 156,000 square feet with equipment yards. Those yards will feature 48 diesel generators for each building that will “operate periodically” for maintenance and testing, and during power outages. Because the generators won’t be a primary power source, Massey said no air quality permit is required.
The plan also features a 16-acre site for an electric substation, with power coming directly from the nearby transmission lines.
The overall site will have a 300-foot vegetative buffer along the northeastern boundary and a 100-foot buffer along the road.
When the site was initially proposed, Massey said the plans were for the center to use up to 75,000 gallons of water per day, which the city could handle. However, the design was updated to include a closed loop system that recycles water, so most of the daily usage would be by the planned 30 employees.
Massey said developers provided an operational noise study at the request of the city, which found the maximum expected decibel level to be 48.4 at the residential property line. Regulations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recommend an operational noise level of 55dbA.
“The normal sounds of town, as I call it … is roughly 50-55 (decibels),” Massey said, encouraging residents to download an app to check noise levels. “The 48 decibels is pretty quiet.”
Massey added that the noise study did not factor in the potential use of noise reduction devices or methods. He later clarified, when asked by Councilwoman Holly Howe, that the study did also not account for the running of the backup generators.
If there is a noise complaint, Massey said the city’s Code Enforcement officers can investigate and if it’s legitimate, the city can send a notice of violation.
When Howe asked about energy usage of the site and the potential to affect residential power bills, Massey and City Manager Monty Crump both said that rates are set by the N.C. Utilities Commission.
Earlier this year, several big tech and utility companies signed a pledge to protect residential customers from rate hikes associated with data center development.
The area was identified in the city’s land use plan as a potential site for residential development, Massey said, adding that the hesitation to consider it for industrial use was due to traffic from tractor-trailers. The only issue with tractor-trailer traffic, he added, would be during construction.
Assistant City Manager John Massey gives details about a proposed data center.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
Massey also pointed out that the No. 1 goal in the land use plan is to “Improve the local economy by continuing to support the growth and expansion of existing business and industries; by recruiting new, non-offensive business and industries, by promoting and expanding local tourism opportunities; and by promoting Rockingham as a regional center for commerce, government and professional services.”
This project, he said, is consistent with that goal.
Massey then presented a table with figures based on a hypothetical residential neighborhood, ranging from 330 to 825 housing units.
At three residential units per acre, for a total of 495 units, the average daily water consumption would be 99,000 gallons of water per day (based on a monthly average of 6,000 gallons per unit.) The tax value would be $99 million-$173 million.
The proposed data center project would be a $1.2 billion investment — with no incentives being offered by the city, unlike the deal the county approved for Amazon.
Rockingham’s current tax base of $824 million, according to Massey, generates $4.4 million each year. This project (at the current tax rate of $0.55 per $100 of valuation), he said, would generate $6.6 million alone, more than doubling the city’s current tax base.
“That’s substantial,” Massey said, adding that if the project were to come to fruition, it would “significantly reduce” the tax burden on residents. “You’ve got money, all of a sudden, to do capital improvements that we’ve otherwise not been able to afford — paving streets, building sidewalks, improving parks and recreation facilities — … so, (it’s a) very significant economic development opportunity.”
Residential, Massey continued, “may not be the …highest and best use of the property.”
“When you look at all the factors in it, it’s a positive thing for the city,” Massey said.
Residents pack the chamber during the August 2026 meeting of the Rockingham City Council.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
Howe also asked Massey if a data center would affect the property values of nearby residents. He replied that he wasn’t qualified to answer, adding that would be a question for an appraiser. However, he did reiterate the “safeguards” of the buffering (for aesthetics) and the noise study.
“From my standpoint, with the safeguards that we’re proposing putting in place, I think it protects those residential uses,” he said.
Mayor John Hutchinson praised the transparency of the process regarding the proposed data center.
“Nothing’s being decided without having everything on the table as to what it is, what they propose, what restrictions we’re looking to put on them, and then having a multi-step process even to get there,” Hutchinson said.
Massey said the rezoning request was unanimously recommended by the city’s Planning Board earlier in the month — with a specific site plan and conditions.
DISCLOSURE: RO co-publisher Kenny Melvin is chairman of the planning board.
Tuesday’s meeting was temporarily halted when a burnt-rubber-smelling smoke started pouring into the chamber from the air vents. According to Rockingham Fire Chief Austin Parker, the HVAC system overheated.
Before attendees in the meeting could address the issue during the public comment portion of the meeting, labeled on the agenda as “Business by Visitors,” the mayor shut it down.
“We will not be taking comments on data centers tonight, or on the rezoning,” Hutchinson said. “The appropriate time for that will be during the public hearing next meeting.”
Massey and Crump both said they were open to receiving questions from the public within the next four weeks.
“And this is the time to do it, while we’re considering it,” said Councilman Bennett Deane. “Because once it’s done … it’s done. So if there’s a concern or something you could suggest that might improve the conditions, we’re open to that — and it’s time to do that … before we move forward.”
The next meeting, with the public hearing, will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8 at Rockingham City Hall.
