Charlotte’s data center moratorium could run through October 2027, with a public hearing set for October 12

Charlotte is weighing an extension of its moratorium on new data centers through October 11, 2027, with a public hearing and council vote scheduled for Monday, October 12, Axios reported on October 1. The current 150-day pause on new data centers in Charlotte expires November 5.

The proposed end date would add about 11 months to the moratorium. That is longer than the nine-month extension the City Council’s Transportation and Development Committee backed on September 8, WFAE reported.

Key dates

The moratorium has moved through several steps this year. The timeline, from WFAE, WSOC, Axios and the Charlotte Observer:

• April 28: Council split 5-5 on fast-tracking a public hearing on data centers, and Mayor Vi Lyles broke the tie with a no vote, saying she wanted research first, the Observer reported. Council member JD Mazuera Arias questioned how many more conversations were needed before action.
• June 8: Council unanimously approved a 150-day moratorium on new data center approvals, WFAE reported.
• September 8: The Transportation and Development Committee approved staff’s request for a nine-month extension.
• September 28: Council was scheduled to vote on moving the extension forward, WSOC reported.
• October 12: Public hearing and vote on the extension.
• November 5: The current moratorium expires unless council extends it.

What the moratorium covers

The pause applies to rezoning and permit applications for new data centers, Axios reported when it passed in June. The main points:

• No new data center rezonings or permits move forward while the moratorium is in place.
• The pause covers areas where data centers had been allowed without restrictions, including some residential areas and Uptown.
• Projects with valid building permits already issued, or where substantial money was spent in good faith, are exempt.
• The first phase of PowerHouse Charlotte, a data center project in the University City area, is also exempt.

Residents who spoke against data centers before the June vote cited rising electricity bills, water use and noise, according to WFAE. Council member Dimple Ajmera said in June that “this 150 day pause today can prevent years of unintended consequences,” according to Axios. Council member LaWana Mayfield noted that Charlotte has long had data centers, but not at today’s scale.

Why the city wants more time

City staff asked for the extension to finish work on permanent rules. Deputy City Manager Alyson Craig said in September that staff would use the time on issues such as air pollution monitoring and allowable noise levels, according to WFAE.

WSOC reported that the city needs more time to study findings from the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based research nonprofit, on data center impacts and to run technical analysis on possible rules. The tools under consideration include capacity verification and cooling standards, according to WSOC.

Axios reported that the city is studying regulations on several fronts:

• How much electricity data centers can use.
• How much water they consume.
• Noise limits.
• Appearance and screening.
• Where in the city data centers can locate.

Council member Victoria Watlington described the approach in June. “When we can agree on the facts, then we can talk about good policy,” she said, according to WFAE.

How many data centers are coming

Data centers hold the servers behind cloud computing and artificial intelligence services, and they use large amounts of power. The pipeline of projects is statewide. At least 54 data center buildings with a combined 4,258 megawatts of capacity were planned in North Carolina as of September, and 13 were operating, according to an Axios analysis of records from Cleanview, a market intelligence company that tracks energy projects. The next generation of U.S. data centers is projected to use 2.5 times as much power as the ones opening in 2026, Axios reported. Axios said the size of that pipeline helps explain why local governments are pausing new applications while they write rules.

Concern is not limited to North Carolina. WFAE noted growing bipartisan opposition to data centers across the country, as residents worry about water use and electricity consumption.

In Charlotte, a proposed American Tower data center of up to 40,000 square feet in east Charlotte needed a rezoning and drew community opposition before the moratorium, WFAE and Axios reported, and the rezoning for that project is paused while the moratorium is in place, according to Axios.

What the pause does not cover

Other North Carolina governments have taken similar steps. Durham adopted a 60-day moratorium and Chatham County a one-year pause, Axios reported in June, and more than 50 communities across the state had adopted data center moratoriums by September, according to the newsletter NC Data Centers.

Projects already permitted or with substantial money spent are exempt under state law, according to the city attorney. That includes Digital Realty’s planned 200,000-square-foot, 12-megawatt expansion of the company’s Uptown data center between Trade and Fifth streets, as covered in the Sept. 24 report. The existing Uptown building, open since 2006, draws about 2 megawatts. Digital Realty also has approved plans for two 200-megawatt buildings on Moores Chapel Road in west Charlotte, each about 1.3 million square feet, according to the same report. The Sept. 18 report has background on what the permanent rules could address.

The October 12 hearing is open to public comment before the vote. Council meetings are held at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St., and the city posts the agenda and speaker sign-up on its website ahead of each meeting.

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