Debate over data center impact heats up at Charlotte City Council meeting

CHARLOTTE — Dozens of Charlotte residents packed City Council chambers Monday night to weigh in on whether the city should temporarily pause construction of new data centers.

The public hearing drew strong and often emotional testimony from neighbors concerned about the impact of massive facilities planned near their homes.

One resident told council members that a proposed 2.5‑million‑square‑foot, 300‑megawatt hyperscale data center in his neighborhood would use enough energy to power a city of 750,000 people.

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Others raised concerns about noise, bright lighting, diesel generator emissions, traffic and the mental‑health toll of living next to such large‑scale infrastructure.

But not everyone opposed the projects. Some speakers argued that data centers are becoming essential infrastructure, comparing them to utilities and roads.

Charlotte City Council member Dimple Ajmera said the issue is bigger than any single project. Under the city’s Unified Development Ordinance, data centers are currently allowed by right in nine zoning districts, meaning developers do not need special approval to build them.

She noted that the UDO does not distinguish between small and hyperscale data centers, even though their water and power demands can be vastly different.

“We need to ask the questions to ensure our local residents are not subsidizing the very basic core services the city provides,” Ajmera said.

Residents also pointed to the enormous strain these facilities could place on local utilities.

One speaker said a planned facility in Moores Chapel would start at 400 megawatts and eventually grow to 750 megawatts — up to 14 times the combined residential power demand of the entire city of Mooresville.

Ajmera said she plans to vote in favor of a five‑month moratorium, which would give the city time to update its development ordinance and require more oversight before a data center can be approved.

At the state level, lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 730, a bipartisan proposal that would regulate data centers by requiring sound assessments, mandating closed‑loop water‑cooling systems, setting minimum electric‑bill payments, banning eminent domain for data‑center land acquisition and preventing local governments from offering tax incentives to data‑center companies.