Council Quickies: City Council Rescinds Support for I-77 Toll Lane Project
Surprise vote comes late in meeting, will leave issue up to CRTPO
Charlotte City Council met for a marathon business meeting on Monday night complete with a plot twist at the end.
The agenda for Monday included a presentation on data centers followed by a vote on whether to move forward with a potential moratorium on the facilities, a public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget, and a decision on a resolution clarifying council’s stance on the I-77 toll lane project, which turned into a surprise vote to rescind the city’s support indefinitely.
On the Agenda:
- Data center presentation and vote
- Public hearing on proposed budget
- I-77 toll lane resolution and surprise vote
What’s next:
Council members will get a chance to further discuss what they heard from residents in Monday night’s public hearing during a budget adjustments meeting on Monday, May 18, followed by straw votes on June 1. Council is then scheduled to vote on the budget’s adoption on June 8.
Data center presentation and vote
Kicking off Monday night’s data center discussion, Deputy City Manager Alyson Craig pointed out that Senate Bill 382, which went into effect in December 2024, limits the city’s ability to restrict land uses.
Craig said the legislature may consider changes to SB 382 during the current short session and city staff is hopeful to see some changes made that would better allow Charlotte to have more agency over its own planning.
As it stands now, Charlotte is home to a dozen data centers comprising 1 million square feet. There is a single rezoning petition currently awaiting approval on 58 acres near Reedy Creek and three that have already been approved and are in the permitting process. Those include a 156-acre project near Moore’s Chapel Road in west Charlotte, 122 acres near Back Creek in northeast Charlotte, and 2.6 acres in Uptown.
According to Duke Energy, data centers account for less than 1% of the current share of statewide peak electric demand but are projected to account for 10% by 2030.
The AREP data center being built in northeast Charlotte will use 1.2 million gallons of reclaimed water (not drinking water) per day during peak season (when it’s hottest out). Reclaimed water is often used for irrigation and other non-drinking uses.
The Moores Chapel facility will use 35,000 gallons of water per day, with lower demand due to using an electric cooling system rather than a water-based one.
Craig said that, because of Senate Bill 382, the city cannot revise zoning standards for data centers based on location, buffers or other standards.
On the other hand, the city still could consider stronger application materials through the Research and Study process and/or implement a temporary moratorium on data center petitions as has been done in cities including Durham, Boone, Kings Mountain and others around the state.
Any moratorium would need to be preceded by a public hearing. Staff recommended a hearing be held on May 26, followed by a vote on a potential moratorium on June 8. The city is proposing a 150-day moratorium to give enough time to explore options for the city to create guardrails around data center development.
“This conversation is no longer hypothetical,” said Dimple Ajmera. “This is about our children, this is about our health, and this is about whether families can peacefully live in their homes.”
“We should have acted on this way before [now],” said JD Mazuera Arias, citing LaWana Mayfield, who brought up the issues with data centers in 2023. “As a governing body, we will always have legal risk … But there is more of a human risk by not acting now to protect our residents.”
Mazuera Arias said his research has shown that data centers using closed-loop water systems, which the city’s presentation showed decreases water usage at a facility by about 70% on average, is often heralded as an environmentally friendly alternative but actually increases energy usage and greenhouse emissions while requiring the use of chemicals that need to be carefully managed to curb negative environmental impacts.
Council unanimously approved moving forward with a public hearing on data centers for May 26, followed by a vote on a potential 150-day moratorium on data center petitions on June 8.
Public hearing on proposed budget
Council moved into the chambers to hold its public forum for the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget, which was presented to council on May 4.
Read more: A Look at the Proposed FY2027 Budget
Terri White with the Charlotte Museum of History addressed council about arts funding, stating that the council appears to believe spending on the arts sector is frivolous and unnecessary until all other issues within our city are solved — a time that will never come.
“The arts should not become an afterthought when challenges arise,” said White. “History has shown us that they matter more during difficult times than ever.”
Community organizer Kass Ottley speaks in support of city workers, stating that the proposed 4% raise is not enough.
“We would like our workers to be recognized,” Ottley said. “We would like them to get a 10% raise. We would like to see them thrive and be able to move up the economic ladder like anyone else in this city.”
Dominic Harris, president of the Charlotte City Workers Union, said it was disrespectful to offer police a 10% raise, firefighters a 7% raise, and all other city workers just 4%. “Put some respect on our checks,” he demanded.
Holly Savoy, executive director of Charlotte Trans Health, said the housing crisis impacts Black trans women the hardest. She asked that the city dedicate funding to train housing providers on nondiscrimination and affirming practices.
“When we invest in equipping our systems to serve everyone, we make Charlotte safer and stronger for all of us,” said Savoy.
Shemika Robinson with the Charlotte chapter of the National Federation for the Blind discussed paratransit in the city, saying that people with disabilities and seniors who need transportation are treated like second-class citizens.
She claimed that paratransit buses are constantly breaking down on the highway because the “regular” CATS vehicles are given priority.
“Please think about us,” Robinson said. “One day you’re going to be here, a senior, and you’ll think about how you were in a situation that you could’ve did something.”
Carol Hardison with Crisis Assistance Ministry spoke in support of a $200-million housing bond, which is included in the People’s Budget. The city manager’s proposed budget includes a $125-million housing bond.
“We see the impact of mass displacement, when no matter how hard a family worked to provide stable housing it can be taken away on a moment’s notice,” Hardison said.
She added that eviction filings have surged recently, including 52,625 filings in the last fiscal year alone.
A number of leaders and survivors with local domestic violence and sexual assault organization Safe Alliance are called on the city to continue funding their critical work. The proposed budget includes no funding for the organization, which usually receives hundreds of thousands of dollars to carry out services and run a housing campus for women escaping domestic violence.
“This work remains essential to the safety and stability of our city,” said Jamilah Espinosa with Safe Alliance. “This is the work that happens after that 911 call when the long-term safety outcome is actually determined. If community safety is truly one of the city’s priorities … then we cannot weaken one of the systems specifically designed to interrupt escalating violence before it becomes more lethal, more widespread and more costly to contain.”
I-77 toll lane resolution and surprise vote
Council was set to vote on a resolution that would call for a pause to the controversial I-77 toll lane project so as to carry out due diligence, including a targeted reevaluation and design analysis of the project that would then drive timelines and decision-making.
Read more: Opposition to I-77 Toll Lanes Grows with Proposed Design Release (2025)
The original resolution called on NCDOT to carry out the analysis, but JD Mazuera Arias made a substitute motion to call for an independent third-party to do it.
“I seek acknowledgement of current and historical community harm of the I-77 corridor,” said Kimberly Owens on why she was supporting a pause to the project. “I seek to provide acknowledgement of the true costs of this project. I hear it described as a $600-million project but we all know it’s a $4-billion project, and the billions are not coming out of some developer’s kindness or largesse. These funds are coming out of our pockets for the next 50 years.”
Owens continued: “We cannot and should not absolve ourselves of the taint of decisions that affect the lives and livelihoods of our residents and the pockets and prosperity of our descendants. We need to lead on this. We need to challenge the narrative that NCDOT knows best when it comes to engagement with our region.”
Renee Johnson seemed unconvinced that the resolution was a meaningful solution.
“This is not simply about pausing the process,” Johnson said. “A pause keeps us moving down the same path. I believe that we need to start over and do this right … We cannot continue making decisions of this magnitude using outdated analysis.”
Johnson moved for a full rescission of the council’s original approval of the project, made in October 2024, so that the process could start from scratch with all that council has learned in the past year.
Council first voted on Mazuera Arias’ substitute motion, which was already on the floor, approving it 10-1.
Before that vote, Dante Anderson said she was proud of the work council had already done for the community, getting NCDOT reps to come to Charlotte and listen to council members and community members, even standing up a community engagement center along the corridor.
Following that vote, however, Johnson made a new motion to rescind Charlotte’s support for the toll lane project indefinitely. Following a discussion with an NCDOT rep who was in attendance at Monday night’s meeting, council approved Johnson’s motion by a one-vote margin.
The 6-5 vote saw Renee Johnson, JD Mazuera Arias, LaWana Mayfield, Malcolm Graham, Victoria Watlington and Joi Mayo voting to rescind. Opposing votes came from Dimple Ajmera, James Mitchell, Kimberly Owens, Dante Anderson and Ed Driggs.
Council’s rescission of support for the project means Ed Driggs, as the city’s rep on the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, will be tasked with going to that body to try to get a majority vote among his fellow reps there to rescind the approval it voted on in 2024.
