Charlotte Council Votes Tonight on Pausing New Data Centers Until October 2027, Plus a South Tryon Landmark and Red Line Engineering

Charlotte City Council has a full agenda for its Monday, Oct. 26 business meeting, and a few items reach well beyond Uptown. The biggest one: whether to keep the city's pause on new data centers in place for almost another year.

Here is what is up for a vote, what each item would actually do, and what is still unsettled. Everything below comes from the city's Oct. 26 business meeting agenda unless noted.

The data center pause could run to Oct. 18, 2027

In June, council adopted a 150 day moratorium on accepting, processing, and approving applications for new "telecommunications and data storage facilities," the city's term for data centers. It expires no later than Nov. 5, 2026.

Item 12 asks council to adopt an ordinance extending it to Oct. 18, 2027. The pause covers Charlotte and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, the area just outside city limits where the city handles zoning.

Why staff wants more time, according to the agenda:

• Charlotte's development rules currently treat every data center the same, regardless of size or power use, and allow them by right in eight zoning districts.
• Research by the World Resources Institute found that data center impacts on water, energy, and noise are "variable and complex."
• Staff and the city's 19 member Data Center Community Task Force said Charlotte lacks specific tools such as capacity checks, monitoring rules, and cooling standards, and needs technical research before writing them.

The extension would end sooner if council adopts new data center rules first. The council's Transportation, Planning and Development Committee recommended the extension unanimously on Sept. 8, and council held a public hearing on Oct. 12.

What it does not do: the pause does not stop projects approved before June 8, 2026, and existing data centers keep operating, according to the city's data center FAQ. The agenda also notes that some projects are exempt under state law and the city cannot enforce the pause against them.

Questions go to DataCenters@charlottenc.gov.

A landmark vote for the Hajoca Building on South Tryon

Item 8 is a public hearing and decision on making the Hajoca Building, also called the Fowler Building, at 1447 South Tryon Street a local historic landmark. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission recommended it.

The designation would cover the building's exterior, specified interior features, and the land under it. If approved, it takes effect the same night. Landmark owners can defer part of their property taxes; the agenda estimates potential deferrable taxes at about $10,559 a year for the city and $17,756 for the county.

The agenda does not say what the owner plans for the building.

Red Line engineering with Norfolk Southern

On the consent agenda, Item 24 would let the city manager sign a preliminary engineering agreement with Norfolk Southern worth up to $1,241,406. The railroad would review the Red Line's 15% and 30% designs and engineer parts of the project that touch its main line.

The Red Line is the proposed commuter rail line on the O Line corridor the city bought from Norfolk Southern in 2024. CATS describes it as a 25 mile line with 10 stations linking Uptown with Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson, with a possible extension to Mount Mourne in Mooresville. The 30% design phase was scheduled to start in July 2026 and take about 18 to 24 months, according to the CATS Red Line page. This is design work, not a construction start or a funding decision.

Other items worth knowing

• E-bikes and rideshare rules: At the 4 p.m. session, council gets a first look at proposed changes to rules for e-bikes on sidewalks and roads, and to the city's passenger vehicles for hire ordinance. These are previews, not votes, and the agenda does not list the proposed rules.
• Blue Line reliability: Item 22 would buy a new axle counter system, a train detection upgrade, for about $797,975 to cut delays caused by electrical interference.
• Wastewater to fuel: Item 19 would let Charlotte Water sell biogas from the McAlpine Creek plant in Pineville to Burnham RNG for 20 years, with Charlotte Water keeping 25% of net revenue.
• SouthPark Loop: Items 28 to 31 would authorize condemnation of small sidewalk and construction easements on four parcels along Cameron Valley Parkway and Carnegie Boulevard. The city says it will keep negotiating.

How to watch or speak

The action preview starts at 4 p.m. in Room 267, and the business meeting begins with the public forum at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St. It is free and open to the public, per the city's meeting page.

What we do not know yet

Consent items usually pass in one vote, but any member can pull one for discussion, and council can amend the moratorium ordinance. We will update this story with the results.

Last verified October 26, 2026.