Charlotte Data Center Moratorium
Coverage (10 articles)
Charlotte Extends Data Center Pause to Oct. 18, 2027
Charlotte City Council voted unanimously to keep its pause on new data centers for almost another year. Two campuses already under construction, approved for up to 5.5 million square feet, are not covered.
Charlotte Weighs Data Center Pause as Two Exempt Sites Build
While council decides whether to extend its pause, the two biggest data center projects in the city's pipeline are under construction. Only one must use closed-loop cooling.
Charlotte Data Center Pause May Grow; Two Campuses Exempt
City staff asked Charlotte City Council on Monday to extend the pause on new data centers by almost a year. Two approved hyperscale campuses, allowed up to 5.5 million square feet together, are exempt and can keep building. A vote is expected Oct. 26.
Hendrick Rezoning Pulled From Consent Agenda Over Its Buffer
Petition 2026-019 cleared all four criteria that put a Charlotte rezoning on the consent agenda, where petitions pass together without discussion. It came off the list anyway. What stopped it was whether the 100-foot buffer everyone already agreed to has to be left undisturbed, a question the plan notes do not answer.
Charlotte council approves 150-day data center moratorium
The pause runs through about November 5, and the city attorney said state law exempts projects that already hold valid building permits.
Charlotte hears residents on data center pause; vote June 8
Speakers centered on three projects: two approved hyperscale data centers and a third, by American Tower Corporation, proposed in East Charlotte.
On Data Centers, Mecklenburg Wants a Voice It Mostly Lacks
Mecklenburg commissioners got a deliberately neutral briefing on data centers at their May 19 meeting and signaled they want a position on the fast-growing industry. The catch: under North Carolina law, nearly all the zoning power belongs to the cities, not the county.
Council Unanimously Sets Data Center Moratorium Hearing
A staff briefing showed the city's development code uses one definition of "data center," from a basement server closet to a hyperscale campus.
Charlotte Council Takes On Budget, I-77 and Data Centers
Council convened in special session at 4 p.m. Monday to take up three of Charlotte's biggest active fights, a $4.5 billion budget hearing, a resolution on the I-77 South toll lanes, and the council's first formal floor discussion of data centers. Council Member Malcolm Graham, who chairs the budget committee, was asked twice on television Sunday whether he is a candidate to fill Mayor Vi Lyles's seat after she steps down June 30. Both times he answered with the public hearing.
Lyles Breaks 5-5 Tie Against Data Center Pause Hearing
The Charlotte City Council deadlocked 5-5 Monday night on whether to even schedule a public hearing on a temporary moratorium for new data center approvals. Mayor Vi Lyles broke the tie, voting no. Meanwhile a data center campus approved for up to 2.5 million square feet is going up at 10800 University City Boulevard.