Charlotte City Council voted Monday night to extend its data center moratorium by 11 months.
Charlotte’s current 150-day data center moratorium halts the approval of new permits. Existing permits for data centers are unaffected.
The council voted unanimously to extend the moratorium until October 18, 2027. District 6 representative Kimberly Owens said they had no other option, as they look to the state for law changes that could allow greater municipal regulations.
"I feel as though the only restriction that we have to being able to adopt some smart regulatory steps is the fact that we cannot downzone," Owens said.
State law prohibits local governments from making the existing zoning on a piece of land more restrictive than it currently is. Charlotte City Council is pinning many of its data center regulation hopes on the General Assembly passing new laws early in next year’s legislative session.
Residents near proposed data centers in Charlotte have raised concerns about noise and pollution, while others are concerned about the massive computing centers' use of energy and water.
