Stokes County Walks Back Data Center Rezoning

DANBURY, N.C. (April 15, 2026) — Walnut Cove residents and organizations involved in a lawsuit are encouraged after the Stokes County Board of Commissioners voted this week to formally void its rezoning decision and text amendment that would have cleared the way for a massive data center along the Dan River.  

Commissioners acknowledged in the resolution, passed Monday, that the county failed to meet statutory notice requirements before approving the massive “Project Delta” hyperscale data center complex. Their decision comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) on behalf of 13 residents and four cultural and environmental nonprofits.  

The plaintiffs and attorneys welcome the county’s acknowledgment that the process was flawed, which concedes a core claim in the lawsuit. They say the vote creates a critical window for the county to adopt stronger data center development zoning protections, ensure transparency, and take the time to fully evaluate the far-reaching impacts such a project could have on the community. The lawsuit remains pending, and plaintiffs are considering next steps. 

In the resolution, the county recognizes both actions taken by Commissioners on January 12, 2026 are void because of faulty notice — their decision to rezone approximately 1,845 acres of residential-agricultural land on the Dan River for heavy manufacturing use and to pass a text amendment that would open more than a dozen mostly rural sites across the county to future data centers. Those decisions carried profound consequences for air quality, water, sacred sites, and families with generations of roots along the Dan River and drew fierce community opposition.  

“We’re glad the county recognized the flaws in their process and that their decisions cannot stand, but the communities of Walnut Cove deserve more than a do-over,” said Anne Harvey David, Chief Counsel for Environmental Justice at SCSJ. “They deserve a process that takes seriously what is at stake for them.” 

For the plaintiffs, the case has always been about much more than procedural error. Their complaint points to serious environmental justice concerns around the Project Delta, including that the original process failed to account for disproportionate impacts on nearby communities — including Indigenous lands along the Dan River and historic Black communities with deep cultural and ancestral significance. With the resolution creating an opportunity for the County to reset, the path forward can now ensure true consultation, full environmental review, and the inclusion of those who have been historically excluded from these decisions.

The plaintiffs in the case are calling on the county to implement a moratorium of at least one year before considering any new application — time to genuinely consider what the scale and magnitude of any hyperscale data center would mean for the county’s land, water, and people, and to build the institutional knowledge needed to properly evaluate any future proposal. If a new application is submitted for Project Delta, the county must correct the deficiencies that undermined the first process: proper notice, meaningful public participation, and a full assessment of environmental and community impacts before any votes are taken.  

“We appreciate the board taking this step to void its rezoning decision,” said Megan Kimball, Senior Attorney with SELC. “These are difficult decisions, and we respect that commissioners are doing their best to serve their communities. The board’s action has created an important opportunity for the county to slow down, put protections in place, and carefully consider future data center proposals.”

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Southern Coalition for Social Justice, founded in 2007, partners with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing, and communications. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.    

The Southern Environmental Law Center is one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region’s air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 250, including more than 160 legal and policy experts and advocates, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, with offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, DC. Learn more at selc.org.