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Raleigh, Wake County

Raleigh: City Council pauses approvals for large data centers for six months

The moratorium, approved Oct. 6, stops the city from accepting or approving applications for large data centers until April 6, 2027, while staff write new rules. Small data centers are exempt.

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

By Triangle Local Newsroom · Published

Downtown Raleigh buildings under a blue sky

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

What we know

Confirmed

  • The Raleigh City Council approved a temporary six-month moratorium on development approvals for data centers at its Oct. 6, 2026, meeting.Confirmed by City of Raleigh
  • The moratorium pauses the city's acceptance, review and approval of data center development applications, including water and sewer extension and connection applications. It runs until April 6, 2027, or until the council adopts new rules, whichever comes first.Confirmed by City of Raleigh draft ordinance and data centers FAQ
  • Data centers of 10,000 square feet or less with a peak electricity demand of 5 megawatts or less are exempt, as are small in-house server facilities that support a business, hospital, school or similar use on the same site.Confirmed by City of Raleigh draft ordinance
  • Under current state law, the city's development rules cannot ban data centers. Raleigh has no hyperscale data centers now.Confirmed by City of Raleigh data centers FAQ
  • Draft rule changes are scheduled to be posted for public comment Nov. 16, with the council's final action scheduled for April 6, 2027.Confirmed by City of Raleigh data centers FAQ

Still unknown

  • Whether any data center applications were pending in Raleigh when the moratorium took effect
  • What the new rules will require

What happened

Raleigh has put a six-month pause on approvals for large data centers while city staff write rules for them.

The City Council approved the moratorium at its Oct. 6 meeting, according to the city. WUNC reported the vote was 7-1, with council member Christina Jones voting no. The pause took effect that day and lasts until April 6, 2027, or until the council adopts new rules, whichever comes first.

What the pause covers

During the moratorium, the city won't accept, review or approve development applications for data centers, according to the ordinance the city posted. That includes applications to extend or connect to city water and sewer lines. It covers both the city limits and Raleigh's extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Smaller facilities are exempt. That includes unstaffed data centers of 10,000 square feet or less that use no more than 5 megawatts of electricity at peak, and small server rooms that support a business, hospital, school or similar use on the same property.

If a complete application was filed before the moratorium took effect, state law lets it continue under the rules in place when it was filed, once processing resumes.

Why the city says it needs time

In the ordinance, the council says large data centers can require large amounts of electricity, land and water, and can cause noise, light pollution and heat. Raleigh's development code covers industrial buildings in general, but it has no standards written for data centers, and city code doesn't address what they could mean for the water system and its ratepayers.

The city also says state law doesn't allow it to ban data centers through its development rules. Under current rules, large data centers can locate only in two industrial zoning districts, and only with a special use permit from the Board of Adjustment. Raleigh has smaller data centers but no hyperscale ones today, according to the city.

What happens next

The city has published this schedule for the new rules:

  • Nov. 16: Draft rule changes posted for public comment
  • Dec. 8 and Jan. 12: Planning Commission meetings
  • Feb. 2, 2027: Planning Commission report to the council
  • March 2, 2027: Council public hearing
  • April 6, 2027: Council final action, and the moratorium ends

At the Oct. 6 public hearing, several speakers asked the council for a longer pause, many of them for 32 months, WUNC reported.

Why it matters

Large data centers can use a lot of electricity, land and water, and Raleigh's development code has no rules written specifically for them. The pause gives the city time to write those rules before any large project can move forward, and residents can comment on the draft this fall and winter.

Sources

  1. Data Centers FAQ

    Official sourcePublished by City of Raleigh · Checked Oct 8, 2026, 10:30 AM

  2. Ordinance establishing a six-month temporary moratorium on development approvals for certain data centers (draft, PDF)

    Official sourcePublished by City of Raleigh · Checked Oct 8, 2026, 10:30 AM

  3. Raleigh approves 6-month data center moratorium as activists push for longer pause

    Published by WUNC · Checked Oct 8, 2026, 10:30 AM

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