Residents weigh in on year-long data center pause

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dozens of people sounding off about whether Charlotte should move forward with data centers in the city. City council hosted a public hearing to extend the data center moratorium.

Across the country, conversations about data centers have been getting heated but the discussion at the government center Monday night was subdued. More than 30 residents on both sides of the argument signed up to speak at the hearing.

Back in June, the council voted in favor of a data center moratorium that runs out in November. The moratorium temporarily paused any new data center applications or development.

This did not stop projects that are already under construction like the large scale data center under construction in University City.

The moratorium was supposed to give staff time to research potential ways to regulate data centers and address environmental concerns. The city started a task force and hosted forums for residents to weigh in while working on regulations. More than 100 days later the work isn’t done.

“Staff need additional expertise and capacity to develop the tools needed to ensure responsible data center development,” Heather Bolick, Chief Sustainability & Resiliency Officer for City of Charlotte said. “An extension of the moratorium would allow us to develop needed tools.”

Some residents encouraged the city to speed up the process of writing regulations for data centers.

“We believe that this moratorium is an impractical tool that risks sending the wrong signal about our region’s economic readiness,” Rob Nanfelt, Executive Director of Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition said. “However, since city staff and council require more time to study infrastructure impacts, we firmly believe the path forward lies in collaboration, not exclusion.”

Other residents say the city cannot afford to rush the process to regulate data centers.

“The purpose of a moratorium is not to stop progress; is to create the space for informed progress,” Rev Dr Janet Garner Mullins, Charlotte resident said. “Tonight is not about whether data centers belong in Charlotte. It’s about whether or not Charlotte has done enough homework before writing rules that would shape our future.”

Some councilmembers suggested city staff research what other cities are doing to regulate data centers.

Council will vote on whether to extend the moratorium at the October 22nd meeting. If passed the action would extend the moratorium until October of 2027.