The city of Charlotte is moving toward an extended freeze on new data center projects, as council members consider lengthening the existing moratorium.

Council prepares vote on extension

Officials held a public hearing Monday to gather community input before a vote scheduled for Oct. 26. The current pause, a 150-day restriction, is set to expire on Nov. 5. Council members may extend it by up to 11 months.

Community concerns drive the moratorium

Charlotte enacted the pause in June after months of local outcry. Opponents highlighted the high water and power consumption of data centers, as well as noise, light pollution, and the risk of displacing residents.

“With the demand of artificial intelligence, we are seeing data center demand drastically go up, and we must put protections in place to protect our communities, our pocketbooks and our quality of life,” councilwoman Dimple Ajmera said.

The controversy intensified after American Tower Corp. proposed a 40,000 sq ft facility near Reedy Creek Nature Preserve in East Charlotte. That project is now on hold.

Cristopher Scalise, co-founder of Stop East Charlotte Data Center, said he hoped the council would “do the right thing and go at least another year” because there is still “an enormous, enormous amount of work” left to do.

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Broader context and labor perspective

Data center moratoriums have spread across North Carolina, with Raleigh adding its own last week. Nationwide, there are 367 active pauses.

The state hosts more than 90 facilities, 40 of which are in Charlotte, according to Data Center Map. When the moratorium began, Ed Driggs told industry outlet Bisnow that a one-year extension would better prepare the city for future development.

Local labor unions at the hearing urged an end to the freeze, arguing construction workers need jobs and should be covered by local regulations. The council noted that North Carolina is not a pro-union state, and the vote will proceed as planned.

Council Member JD Mazuera Arias emphasized the need for broader safeguards and suggested the city could work with the state legislature. “There’s a real great potential here for coalition building, to advocate for more than what we can do currently and what we’re limited to do as a local government based on state statute,” he said.

He added, “I do support the extension of a moratorium, and I look forward to voting for it when the time comes.”