Raleigh to consider 6-month moratorium on data centers. What we know
The Raleigh City Council is considering a six-month moratorium on data center proposals, with a public hearing and vote scheduled for October 6. This follows public opposition to a recently withdrawn data center annexation request by developer RadiusDC. Residents have raised concerns about potential environmental, health, and quality-of-life impacts, citing similar moratoriums in other North Carolina municipalities.
The Raleigh City Council is poised to vote on a six-month moratorium for new data center proposals during its October 6 meeting. Mayor Janet Cowell announced the proposal after a closed session with city attorneys, with the council directing the attorneys to draft the measure.
The consideration of a moratorium was spurred by the mid-August withdrawal of an annexation proposal related to a planned 100,000-square-foot data center on Jones Sausage Road. Raleigh resident Mickey Brigham spoke at a public hearing, voicing concerns about the facility's significant electricity consumption and heat generation, despite developer RadiusDC's claims of air-cooling. Brigham emphasized that the project's withdrawal of the annexation request does not negate the broader issue, and RadiusDC has indicated intentions to proceed with the project.
Public sentiment has overwhelmingly favored a moratorium, with residents highlighting similar measures in other Triangle-area municipalities like Cary and Durham. Cary previously approved an 18-month moratorium, while Durham County adopted a nine-month pause. Further afield in North Carolina, Northampton County enacted a 32-month moratorium, and Clay and Murphy counties implemented more permanent restrictions on certain large-scale data centers. Raleigh's current regulations permit data centers on industrially zoned land, but require a special-use permit approved through a quasi-judicial process by the city's Board of Adjustment.