RALEIGH, N.C. — A planned data center expansion in west Raleigh will be reviewed under the city’s old rules because the application landed four days before the City Council froze approvals for large data centers.
American Tower, a Massachusetts cell tower company, wants to add about 10,000 square feet to the Chapel Hill Road data center it already runs, which covers roughly 15,000 square feet. The council voted 7-1 on Oct. 6 for a six-month pause on data center applications of 10,000 square feet or more, giving staff time to study how the facilities affect utilities, the environment and nearby neighborhoods.
Council member Jane Harrison, whose district includes the site, said the city cannot change the approval track the project is already on. She noted it is an expansion in an industrial area set apart from homes and said she has not heard concerns from constituents.
Under the pre-pause rules, the project needs a special use permit from the Board of Adjustment, which holds a court-like hearing with evidence before ruling. American Tower filed its application under protest, arguing the work should be allowed by right. City spokesperson Julia Milstead said the city is reviewing that claim, no decision has been made and no board hearing is on the calendar yet. Harrison said the council will discuss the project with its attorneys in a closed session Wednesday.
Christina Jones, the only council member who voted against the pause because she wanted a longer one, said she learned of the filing on social media and was frustrated by the lack of notice. The moratorium followed backlash to a much bigger 100,000-square-foot plan at 3101 Jones Sausage Road in southeast Raleigh, which its developers pulled after neighbors objected.
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