The public hearing is scheduled for May 26, with a potential vote on the moratorium set for June 8.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte residents will have a chance to voice their concerns about data centers after the city council voted Monday night to schedule a public hearing on a potential 150-day moratorium — reversing course after many councilmembers voted against putting a hearing on the calendar last month.
The moratorium, if approved, would pause construction on new data centers while city staff work to finalize regulations on water usage, energy consumption, noise and other impacts.
Resident Ahmid Kargbo, who has been protesting data center development, said rising energy costs are a top concern for people in affected neighborhoods.
“People can’t afford these energy costs,” Kargbo said. “They think they can just go shove it down in more economically distressed communities historically. It’s just not fair and it’s not right.”
Councilmember Dimple Ajmera said the issue goes beyond economics as well.
“This is about whether families can peacefully live in their homes,” Ajmera said. “We have residents worried about the noise, air quality, water usage, traffic impacts and whether their neighborhoods will drastically change.”
Deputy City Manager Alyson Craig cautioned that state law may limit what the city can actually do going forward. She said Senate Bill 382 restricts municipalities’ ability to act on certain rezoning requests, though she noted there may be an appetite to revisit that in the General Assembly’s short session.
“I think there are different levels of risk in terms of being in compliance with that senate bill,” Craig said. “I would say things like changing zoning districts and adding buffers is pretty clear that that’s not allowed. Starting to ask for things like a water conservation plan or an energy conservation plan as part of a complete application is probably easier to do and carries less risk, but not no risk.”
The public hearing is scheduled for May 26, with a potential vote on the moratorium set for June 8.
For the latest breaking news, weather and traffic alerts that impact you from WCNC Charlotte, download the WCNC Charlotte mobile app and enable push notifications.
