RALEIGH, N.C. — The Raleigh City Council voted 7-1 on Tuesday to put a six-month hold on new large data center development in Raleigh, N.C., giving city staff time to study the industry and write rules for it.
The pause covers data centers with footprints exceeding 10,000 square feet. City officials said current regulations do not include standards built specifically for large-scale data centers, and one aim of the vote is to create site-specific standards for the bigger facilities.
Under the moratorium, no construction can begin and no site application can be approved through April 6. The pause took effect immediately. According to the city attorney, residents will have 11 more opportunities for public comment before the hold expires, as the city works toward a data center ordinance.
Councilwoman Christina Jones cast the lone dissenting vote. She pointed to other municipalities that have adopted or extended longer moratoriums and said she was struggling with making the decision now while the bigger conversation is still to come.
Many residents who spoke wanted more time. Several held signs reading 32 months, the timeline they say is needed to review effects on water, the power grid and neighborhoods before any project is approved. Rania Masri, co-director of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, argued that the city has many unanswered questions and that serious on-the-ground research of land, water supply and the energy grid is needed first.
The debate grew out of a proposal about two months ago from Charlotte-based developer Beacon Partners for a 100,000-square-foot design on Jones Sausage Road in southeast Raleigh. That plan, which would have annexed more than 13 acres, was pulled after strong public opposition.
The city said it knows of eight data centers inside Raleigh city limits, most of them smaller facilities, and none of them hyperscale. Mayor Janet Cowell said city leaders want a careful approach that protects residents while keeping Raleigh known as an innovative tech city. A Duke Energy spokesperson said data centers now account for less than 1% of total peak electricity demand, a share projected to rise to 13% of sales by 2030.