Planning staff outlines legal tests and proposed 150‑day moratorium to study data‑center impacts

Planning staff reviewed the legal requirements and proposed next steps for a possible moratorium on new standalone data centers at the June 1 committee meeting.

Under North Carolina statute a local moratorium must state the problems prompting the pause, identify which development approvals would be affected, set a termination date and explain the schedule of actions to address the problems. Staff recommended 150 days (if approved June 8, through November 5) to complete independent environmental and utility impact research, to convene an interdisciplinary team led by the city’s Chief Sustainability Officer, and to engage stakeholders. Proposed research topics include water use, energy demand, heat‑island and noise impacts and adjacency to residential neighborhoods.

Staff noted state law exempts projects that already hold valid building permits, fully complete development applications, or vested rezoning approvals; two hyperscale projects and one permitted project in Charlotte’s pipeline therefore would be exempt. City attorneys cautioned that automated audio 'noise cameras' and other enforcement tools raise statutory and constitutional questions, and that any performance standards that touch zoning or nonconforming uses will interact with pending state legislative proposals (including Senate bills under consideration). Staff proposed using existing on‑call environmental consultants to begin research during the moratorium and promised a series of public stakeholder engagements and interim reports.

If council adopts any moratorium, staff said it will return with recommended performance standards or land‑use approaches once the interdisciplinary study and public engagement are complete.