City of Charlotte bans new data center construction for 150 days
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The City of Charlotte is temporarily blocking construction of new data centers for 150 days.
Why it matters: The AI boom has these windowless facilities popping up faster than the city can keep up. A moratorium gives officials time to catch up and draw up potential regulations.
The latest: Charlotte City Council unanimously voted to enact the moratorium Monday night.
What they're saying: "This 150 day pause gives us the time that we need to do our homework," Council member Dimple Ajmera said. "This 150 day pause today can prevent years of unintended consequences."
Context: Right now in Charlotte, data centers can be built in many places without any say from the city or community, including next to homes and in the heart of Uptown.
- "We've always had data centers, but not at the scale that we're seeing now," said Council member LaWana Mayfield.
- A few recent projects have prompted an outcry of neighborhood resistance, such as American Tower's rezoning for an up to 40,000-square-foot center in east Charlotte.
Caveat: Per state law, the moratorium won't apply to already underway projects, like ones with valid building permits or "any development for which substantial expenditures have already been made in good faith," city attorney Andrea Leslie-Fite said.
- This includes the first phase of the "PowerHouse Charlotte" campus in the University City area.
Zoom out: Charlotte isn't the only city looking to slow down the surge of data center construction. Municipalities are enacting moratoriums across the state, from Durham (60 days) to Chatham County (one year).
What's next: City planning staff will study impacts such as increased electricity costs, water usage, environmental effects, noise, aesthetics and where they can be built.