Charlotte City Council unanimously voted to extend the city's moratorium on new data center development through Oct. 18, 2027.
The vote Monday, Oct. 26, freezes new data center applications citywide, including in south Charlotte and the Ballantyne area. It gives city staff nearly a year to draft regulations on water consumption, electricity demand and where the facilities can be built relative to neighborhoods. The previous moratorium, approved in June, was set to expire in early November.
"In the next 11 months, we will have an opportunity to put guardrails in place to protect our residents, to protect our neighborhoods and to protect water and the electricity grid," Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera said, according to Queen City News.
Council members said they recognize the freeze could stall economic growth and jobs. But several said the potential strain on infrastructure demands careful study before new facilities are approved.
District 5 Councilman JD Mazuera Arias said technology is advancing rapidly and data centers are expanding fast. He said he opposes placing the facilities near homes.
Existing data centers in Charlotte consume about 64,000 gallons of water per day, roughly 0.4% of the system's total demand, Queen City News reported. Council members plan to use the extended moratorium to study the facilities and determine what authority the city has to monitor and control their operations.
The vote was unanimous, but not without reservations. District 6 Councilwoman Kimberly Owens said she generally opposes moratoria because they create uncertainty for workers, businesses and property owners. She said she would prefer the city adopt smart regulations instead.
One complication: state law limits what rules Charlotte can impose on its own. Council members hope the North Carolina General Assembly will grant local governments more regulatory authority after the November election.
Councilwoman Dante Anderson said the city must address health and environmental safeguards before deciding how data centers fit within Charlotte's footprint. She noted the facilities "are here and they are coming."
The council can lift the moratorium before Oct. 18, 2027, if it finishes the new guidelines sooner. Queen City News did not report the date of the council's next scheduled meeting on the issue.
