Mecklenburg County leaders weigh taking a stance on controversial data centers
Mecklenburg County commissioners are weighing whether to take a position on data centers as debate over the controversial facilities intensifies in the Charlotte area.
Commissioners heard a presentation on how data centers are evolving and the arguments for and against them at their Tuesday meeting, followed by a discussion of what, if anything, the county can do to regulate them.
Some of the commissioners expressed wariness about the expansion of large-scale facilities in the county. Others said they need to learn more before solidifying their position.
The conversation follows weeks of debate on data centers by the Charlotte City Council, which is considering a moratorium on the facilities in response to backlash against a proposed east Charlotte data center.
County government is limited in what it can do to address the spread of data centers, staff said during Tuesday’s presentation. Whereas Charlotte and area towns have some control over projects through zoning decisions in their communities, the county only oversees a small sliver of unincorporated land in south Mecklenburg.
But, staff added, the county can still take a position on the issue and encourage municipalities to take that view into consideration.
District 1 Commissioner Elaine Powell said she’s concerned about the environmental impacts of large-scale data centers, particularly how much land, electricity and water they use. She noted the region is currently in a drought and struggling to preserve agricultural land.
“From my perspective, there is an urgency,” she said of whether the county should take a position.
District 6 Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell described the need to balance supporting economic growth with sustainability as two sides “all crashing together in an unsustainable way.”
“We do need to have a position,” she said.
District 3 Commissioner George Dunlap said he hasn’t decided his stance on data centers yet, “because I don’t know enough.” He encouraged the county to do more to educate the public about data centers, suggesting a town hall to share the same presentation county commissioners received with the community.
“I’ve heard all kinds of stuff. I don’t know what’s factual or not, but I think the community wants to know. They want to be educated by somebody who hasn’t taken a position,” Dunlap said.
County Commission Chairman Mark Jerrell said the board needs to be forward-thinking in its approach given how fast technology is evolving.
“It’s incumbent upon us to get ahead of it,” he said.
