City Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera is requesting a temporary moratorium on all data centers near residential neighborhoods while Charlotte develops regulations.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ Charlotte city leaders and North Carolina lawmakers are moving to impose stricter regulations on data centers, raising concerns about the facilities’ impact on energy and water resources.
Charlotte City Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera says regulations are needed immediately.
“What I’m hearing from communities is that these data center requests are coming in Black and brown communities,” Ajmera said. “They are getting proposed closer and closer to residential communities. We need to take action now. We need to lead on this issue.”
The debate comes as American Tower Corporation has requested a one-month delay in its petition to rezone a 58-acre plot of land on Hood Road into a 40,000-square-foot data center. Single-family homes sit directly across the street from the proposed site.
Ajmera says the pushback signals the city needs clear standards on energy and water use.
“These are not small facilities. These are the facilities that can use as much power as thousands of homes,” she said. “They can use millions of gallons of water a day, and they run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Ajmera is requesting a temporary moratorium on all data centers near residential neighborhoods while the city develops those standards. Officials say drafting full regulations could take up to six months.ย
Her concerns are echoed in Raleigh.ย
Earlier this month, Gov. Josh Stein called for an end to tax breaks for data centers,ย writing on X: “If all planned data centers in North Carolina are built, developers would receive an estimated $450 million in sales tax exemptions each and every year. And with the stateโs impending fiscal cliff and the federal government retreating on longstanding commitments, state revenue is especially precious. We should spend taxpayer dollars only when it adds value to our people. And do we really want to subsidize energy consumption by data centers when they are making everyone elseโs power bills go up? It doesnโt make much sense to me.”
While no legislation on this has been filed yet, Rep. Laura Budd, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, said she expects legislation to be filed this session.
“I think Gov. Stein had the right idea, saying, ‘Hey, let’s pump the brakes. Let’s pause these tax breaks for the data centers and go back and look at where we are and where we want to go,'” she said. “We’re now at a point where it’s not that we are trying to attract the business. We’re in high demand for them to come in.”
Contact Julie Kay at juliekay@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X andย Instagram.
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