At a committee meeting Monday afternoon, Deputy City Manager Alyson Craig clarified that a proposed 150-day moratorium would stop new data center applications from being submitted, but would not pause every project already lined up.
“Anything that submits a full set of construction plans before a moratorium went into effect would be exempt. Anything that once that moratorium goes into place, we will not be accepting any more applications,” Craig said.
In those 150 days, an interdisciplinary team led by Charlotte’s Office of Sustainability will research the impacts and possible regulations of data centers alongside environmental consultants. The team would include city planners, Charlotte Water, the city attorney’s office and Mecklenburg County Public Health.
The City Council is expected to vote on the proposed moratorium next week, on June 8.
