TO: Mayor Colvin and Members of City Council
THRU: Dr. Douglas J. Hewett, ICMA-CM, City Manager
FROM: Dr. Andrew Mansell, Sr. Assistant to the City Manager
DATE: November 9, 2026
RE:Title
Consider Proposed Data Center Moratorium Ordinance and Set Public Hearing
Title
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COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal II, Economic and Strategic Growth
Executive Summary:
The City Council approved a motion calling for a public hearing on a temporary moratorium on development approvals for data storage facilities (data centers). N.C.G.S § 1670D-107, establishes the notice, hearing, and substantive requirements for adoption of a temporary development moratorium. The attached draft is presented for Council’s considerations.
The draft would pause development approvals for new or expanded data centers for up to 180 days, ending sooner if the supplemental standards it describes are adopted first. It does not change or delay the approved data center text amendments (TA26-01). The draft ordinance also establishes a task force of residents, subject-matter experts, and institutional partners to continue studying the community and environmental impacts of this use.
Background:
Between October 2025 and October 2026, the City conducted a preliminary study of data centers as a land use, Planning Commission and Council public hearings, site visits to operating facilities in Raleigh, North Carolina, and in Loudoun County, Virginia, expert presentations, three community listening sessions on September 30, 2026, and review by an outside attorney experienced in North Carolina land use law. That work produced TA26-01, adopted October 26, 2026, which establishes the City’s foundational zoning standards for data centers, including a conditional rezoning requirement and use-specific standards.
At adoption, Council recognized that the study had identified several subjects, extending beyond a zoning text amendment, th...
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