5,000 signatures. It never got a vote.

2025

Natelli Investments files for 250 MW on residential farmland

Natelli Investments proposes a 250 MW data center campus on 190 acres of Wake County farmland in the New Hill community near Apex, NC. The land is zoned residential and agricultural — not industrial. A 250 MW facility is a utility-scale power draw that requires rezoning, public hearings, and commission approval.

After Filing

Protect Wake County Coalition forms

Local residents and community organizations form the Protect Wake County Coalition. The coalition collects over 5,000 petition signatures opposing the data center — evidence of deep, organized community opposition that would face the developer at every hearing.

December 2025

Gates County enacts North Carolina's first county data center moratorium

Gates County, NC becomes the first county in North Carolina to enact a data center moratorium — a clear signal that the legislative environment across the state is moving against data center development on rural and agricultural land. This precedent directly threatens any NC application with similar site characteristics.

March 2026

Natelli withdraws before a single vote is cast

Natelli Investments withdraws the application in March 2026. The project never received a planning commission vote, a board of commissioners vote, or a public hearing decision. The withdrawal is driven by the 5,000-signature petition, the organized coalition, and the increasingly hostile legislative environment.

Same Week

Apex Town Council votes unanimously to draft a moratorium

In the same week as Natelli's withdrawal, the Apex Town Council votes unanimously to draft a data center moratorium. The connection is explicit: community opposition to the Natelli proposal catalyzed a jurisdiction-wide legislative response that would have blocked the project even if Natelli had proceeded.