Skip to content
Triangle Local

Fayetteville, Cumberland County

Fayetteville: Council schedules a hearing on a proposed data-center pause

Monday's city recap says staff must draft a moratorium ordinance. Updated zoning text is due at the Oct. 26 meeting. No pause is in effect.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Triangle Local Newsroom · Published

The Market House on Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville

File photo: Epicjeff (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • The Fayetteville City Council held a special meeting Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, at 11 a.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber.Confirmed by City of Fayetteville recap, Oct. 19, 2026
  • Staff presented the city's data-center research and the regulatory framework under consideration, along with feedback from residents who attended listening sessions on Sept. 30.Confirmed by City of Fayetteville recap, Oct. 19, 2026
  • Nick Tosco of Poyner Spruill presented a legal review and recommendations on proposed Unified Development Ordinance text amendments for data centers.Confirmed by City of Fayetteville recap, Oct. 19, 2026
  • Council approved scheduling a public hearing on a proposed data-center moratorium ordinance and directed staff to prepare that draft for consideration before the hearing.Confirmed by City of Fayetteville recap, Oct. 19, 2026
  • Council also directed staff, with help from legal counsel, to update the Unified Development Ordinance using the regulation recommendations presented Monday. The recap says the updated text is to go to council and the public for the Oct. 26 regular meeting.Confirmed by City of Fayetteville recap, Oct. 19, 2026
  • A Sept. 23 city notice listed three Sept. 30 listening sessions, at College Lakes Recreation Center, 4945 Rosehill Road (10 a.m. to noon); Massey Hill Recreation Center, 1612 Camden Road (2 to 4 p.m.); and Cliffdale Recreation Center, 6404 Cliffdale Road (6 to 8 p.m.). That notice invited comments on water, electricity, emissions, setbacks, appearance and noise, and said no ordinance had been adopted.Confirmed by City of Fayetteville, Sept. 23, 2026
  • The Fayetteville Observer, writing Wednesday about Monday's meeting, reported the hearing vote as 6-4. It named Mayor Mitch Colvin, Mayor Pro Tem Derrick Thompson, and council members D.J. Haire and Deno Hondros as the four who voted no.Confirmed by The Fayetteville Observer, Oct. 21, 2026
  • The Observer said Council member Shaun McMillan made the motion to schedule the hearing and have staff draft the pause. It quoted him saying a moratorium could allow a resident-and-expert task force and a community-benefits rule that zoning edits alone cannot produce.Confirmed by The Fayetteville Observer, Oct. 21, 2026
  • The Observer also reported a second 6-4 vote to add Tosco's recommendations to the draft zoning text and bring that packet back Oct. 26. It named council members Stephon Ferguson, Lynne Greene, Antonio Jones and McMillan as the four who voted no on that motion.Confirmed by The Fayetteville Observer, Oct. 21, 2026
  • ABC11, reporting Monday night, also described a divided council that scheduled another hearing on a draft pause and asked lawyers to revise the proposed language. It said city officials named water use, noise and power as the top concerns from the September sessions. The Observer reported the same three concerns from staff on Monday.Confirmed by ABC11, Oct. 19, 2026; The Fayetteville Observer, Oct. 21, 2026

Still unknown

  • The date of the moratorium hearing. The city recap does not set one
  • The full text of the draft pause and the Oct. 26 zoning packet, which have not been posted in a form we have read
  • Whether council will adopt either measure, and on what timetable

What this means for you

Instructions from City of Fayetteville

This site is not the City of Fayetteville. For Monday's recap, the Sept. 23 listening-session notice and later packets, use the city's pages. This site is not an emergency service. If someone is in danger, call 911.

What happened

In Fayetteville, the City Council on Monday scheduled a hearing on a proposed pause for data-center work and told staff to write that draft ordinance.

The city's Oct. 19 recap of the 11 a.m. special meeting in the City Hall Council Chamber said staff reviewed research and the rules under discussion, plus comments from Sept. 30 sessions. Nick Tosco of Poyner Spruill presented a legal review of proposed Unified Development Ordinance changes.

Council also directed staff, with legal help, to revise those zoning amendments using recommendations from Monday. The recap says the updated text is to go to the board and the public for the Oct. 26 regular meeting.

The Fayetteville Observer, writing Wednesday about the same session, reported the hearing vote as 6-4, with Mayor Mitch Colvin, Mayor Pro Tem Derrick Thompson, and members D.J. Haire and Deno Hondros opposed. ABC11, reporting Monday night, also described a divided board that set another hearing and asked lawyers to rework the draft language.

A Sept. 23 city notice had listed three Sept. 30 meetings, at College Lakes, Massey Hill and Cliffdale recreation centers, and invited comments on water, electricity, emissions, setbacks, appearance and noise. ABC11 and the Observer both reported that officials later named water, noise and power as the top concerns from those sessions.

The Observer said Council member Shaun McMillan made the motion to set the hearing and draft the pause. It quoted him saying a moratorium could allow a local task force and a community-benefits rule that zoning edits alone cannot produce.

No pause is in effect. The city has not posted a date for that hearing. This is not a vote to allow or block a specific building.

This site is not the City of Fayetteville. For the recap, the September notice and later packets, use the city's pages.

Why it matters

Fayetteville has not adopted a pause or new data-center rules. Monday's votes set a hearing and send revised zoning text back on Oct. 26. Residents need that distinction before the next meeting.

Updates

  1. Oct 21, 2026, 10:05 AM

    The city's Oct. 19 recap says council scheduled a hearing on a proposed data-center pause and told staff to draft that ordinance. Updated zoning text is due for the Oct. 26 regular meeting. No pause is in effect.

Sources

  1. City Council Special Meeting Recap – October 19, 2026 (11 a.m., City Hall Council Chamber; staff research and Sept. 30 listening-session feedback; Nick Tosco of Poyner Spruill legal review of proposed UDO text amendments; council approved scheduling a public hearing on a proposed data-center moratorium ordinance and directed staff to prepare the draft; directed staff, with legal counsel, to update the UDO with recommendations from the meeting; updated text to council and the public for the Oct. 26 regular meeting; materials at FayettevilleNC.gov/UDOamendments)

    Official sourcePublished by City of Fayetteville · Checked Oct 21, 2026, 10:00 AM

  2. City to host listening sessions on proposed UDO amendments (Sept. 23, 2026: three Sept. 30 sessions at College Lakes Recreation Center, 4945 Rosehill Road, 10 a.m.–noon; Massey Hill Recreation Center, 1612 Camden Road, 2–4 p.m.; Cliffdale Recreation Center, 6404 Cliffdale Road, 6–8 p.m.; comments invited on water, electricity, emissions, setbacks, appearance and noise; no ordinance adopted; FayettevilleNC.gov/UDOAmendments)

    Official sourcePublished by City of Fayetteville · Checked Oct 21, 2026, 10:00 AM

  3. Fayetteville sets stage for data center hearing, moratorium (The Fayetteville Observer, Oct. 21, 2026: 6-4 hearing vote; Colvin, Thompson, Haire and Hondros opposed; McMillan made the motion; McMillan quote on a task force and community-benefits rule; staff named water, noise and electricity as top Sept. 30 concerns; second 6-4 vote to add Tosco recommendations and return Oct. 26; Ferguson, Greene, Jones and McMillan opposed that motion; no hearing date yet)

    Published by The Fayetteville Observer · Checked Oct 21, 2026, 10:00 AM

  4. Fayetteville city council divided on proposed data center, schedules further hearings (ABC11, Oct. 19, 2026: Monday morning special session; scheduled another hearing on a draft pause; lawyers to revise proposed language; three September sessions; city officials named water use, noise and power as top concerns)

    Published by ABC11 (WTVD) · Checked Oct 21, 2026, 10:00 AM

Related stories