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Anne Schrader Stephens’ voice broke. She fought back tears as she urged the Cary Town Council to protect the town’s water and natural environment from the potential impacts of data centers.
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She spoke during Thursday night’s public hearing on Cary’s proposed data-center moratorium, a temporary delay of new large- scale data centers.
But Stephens wanted the council to go further and ban data centers. Everyone who spoke during the public hearing supported the pause, except Michael Morris. He called it “silly” and “the wrong message,” arguing that data centers make modern life possible.
“Computers, iPhones and streaming — where does all this come from?” Morris asked.
Cary approved the Triangle’s longest data-center pause unanimously, but council members stressed they aren’t trying to keep the industry out. They want 18 months to write rules before the town has to react to a formal large-scale proposal, particularly around water, electricity, noise and land use.
“I am in favor of taking a short time to prepare so we can say yes when and if the right opportunity arises,” said council member Michelle Craig.
In recent months, Apex and Holly Springs have approved pauses of up to 12 months, and Durham County stopped at nine months. Raleigh has not adopted a data-center pause.
Other North Carolina communities have gone further than Cary: Northampton County paused development for 32 months, while Murphy and Clay County have enacted prohibitions on certain large or high-intensity data centers.
Council member Bella Huang said: “This moratorium is not saying no to AI.”
The council first directed staff in May to prepare a moratorium as demand for data centers rises nationally and across North Carolina.
Heather Whelehan, Cary’s planning and community development director, said cloud computing, artificial intelligence and streaming are driving that demand, while the Triangle’s available land, power infrastructure, fiber network, research institutions and skilled workforce make the region attractive to developers.
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Cary’s land-development rules do not currently define data centers or establish where they should be allowed or what standards should apply.
During the pause, staff plans to study land-use and infrastructure impacts, seek community input and coordinate with regional partners before proposing permanent regulations.
Council member Brittany Richards said clear rules would give developers a better understanding of what Cary expects.
The study will examine electricity demand and regional grid capacity, water used for cooling systems, noise and vibration, site design, buffering and environmental impacts.
Whelehan told The News & Observer that some existing Cary businesses, including SAS and Verizon, have server or data-processing facilities, but the town has no large-scale, standalone data centers.
“Right now we haven’t had any applications for this large-scale kind of contemporary data center use,” she said.
Cary Energy Manager Sara Caliendo told The N&O the town estimates the small, co-located server uses it wants to exempt generally draw 1 megawatt or less of demand.
Mayor Pro Tem Lori Bush warned of potential water issues.
“We have four separate municipalities that essentially drink from one pipe: Jordan Lake,” she said. “So before we ask that pipe to cool a data center, we owe it to all of them to know what the cost is.”
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This story was originally published August 28, 2026 at 9:26 AM.