City Council Approves Temporary Data Center Moratorium; Discusses Red Light Cameras and Transit Agreement
Red Light Camera Pilot
Charlotte City Council received an update from CDOT on a proposed Red Light Camera Pilot Program to improve safety at some of the city’s intersections with a history of fatal crashes caused by traffic signal violations. You can view the Council discussion here (starting at 44:40).
According to city staff, the proposed 10-intersection pilot could reduce total crashes by more than 20% and cut dangerous angle and left-turn collisions by nearly 40%. Candidate locations were identified based on a history of serious crashes, including fatalities, severe injuries, and pedestrian and bicycle collisions.
Read our May blog post here to learn more about the proposed pilot and its expected outcomes.
What’s next?
- Staff are creating an RFP (Request for Proposals) to select a program vendor to install and operate the cameras.
- Council will be asked to approve the contract at a future business meeting.
- The goal is to launch a pilot program in early 2027, about 6 months from now.
City staff will now develop a request for proposals and return to Council with a contract and ordinance changes for consideration. During this meeting, Council member JD Mazuera Arias recognized Sustain Charlotte’s work to advance red light cameras as a life-saving tool.
Our Take
Our collective voice and advocacy are working to bring this program back to make our streets safer! Thanks to the hundreds of residents who responded to our action alert in January after 25-year-old Lance Sotelo was killed by a driver who ran a red light.
Every day without red light cameras is a day when lives are at risk.
We urge both Council and CDOT to take the next steps required to implement the pilot without delay. The City should also begin working with our Mecklenburg delegation to advance legislation that would allow CDOT to recover the full cost of the camera program, as Greenville did.
Data Center Moratorium
Charlotte City Council took a major step toward more thoughtful, people-centered growth by unanimously approving a 150-day moratorium on new data center developments. Follow along here (starts at 2:35). Check out our blog post here about the staff presentation at the June 1 Council Transportation, Planning and Development committee prior to Monday night’s vote.
The vote was met with applause from community members and chants of, “The people united, will never be defeated!”
The moratorium gives city leaders time to study how large-scale data centers could affect Charlotte’s neighborhoods, infrastructure, energy grid, water supply, and environment before approving more projects.
As artificial intelligence and cloud computing drive rapid growth in demand for data storage, communities across the country are asking how to balance technological innovation with public health, environmental protection, and quality of life.
Council members made clear that this pause is not about rejecting technology, but about making sure Charlotte grows intentionally and does not place unfair burdens on residents, especially those already facing rising costs.
“If residents have to be asked to conserve water during drought conditions, if families can be asked to reduce energy consumption, then corporations, especially those with massive water and energy footprints, should be held to the same standard,” said JD Mazuera Arias, “especially when Duke Energy is pushing for higher rates and our residents are already facing property tax increases.”
Council Member Renee Johnson shared that only a year ago, a moratorium was so unfathomable that she called it “the M word” due to the perceived controversy. Council’s unanimous vote to approve the moratorium signals a broader shift toward “people first” governing.
Our Take
This is exactly the kind of leadership our growing city needs. Charlotte can welcome innovation while also protecting residents, conserving natural resources, and ensuring that new development aligns with our sustainability goals. There are many innovative and promising ideas for building smaller data centers in a more distributed manner, thereby reducing environmental and community impacts.
The next 150 days are an important opportunity for city staff, elected officials, residents, environmental advocates, and industry representatives to develop stronger policies. Those policies should address water use, energy demand, noise, emissions, backup fuel storage, proximity to schools and homes, and impacts on already overburdened communities.
Charlotte’s future should be shaped by the people who live here, and this moratorium gives us time to get it right.
MPTA Interlocal Agreement
Charlotte City Council approved an interlocal agreement allowing CATS to operate as a city department until January 2027. This agreement was proposed by the new Metropolitan Public Transit Authority (MPTA), the regional transit authority board that will manage all aspects of CATS operations in the near future. It will allow adequate time for all of CATS’ operations to smoothly transition from a city department to the MPTA. Read more about that in our previous blog post here.
You can follow along with the discussion here (begins at 15:40).
The proposed transition agreement outlines how responsibilities will shift from the City of Charlotte to the MPTA over the next several months. Under the plan, CATS will continue to operate under city management through the end of 2026, while the MPTA builds its capacity to assume full responsibility beginning in 2027.
For transit riders and advocates, several key commitments stand out.
City leaders emphasized that transit-dedicated sales tax revenues will remain dedicated to transit, no city general fund dollars will be used to subsidize transit operations, and CATS employees will maintain their compensation and retirement benefits throughout the transition.
Council members also highlighted the importance of continued collaboration between the City and MPTA, particularly as the region works to implement the voter-approved transit plan and expand mobility options across Mecklenburg County.
Our Take
We see this transition as a critical opportunity to strengthen regional transportation governance and improve accountability for delivering high-quality transit service. As Charlotte continues to grow, reliable public transportation will be essential for reducing traffic congestion, connecting residents to jobs and opportunities, and advancing our community’s climate and sustainability goals.
The agreement is expected to return to City Council for a final vote later this month before the MPTA officially assumes governance responsibilities on July 1.
We will continue to follow this process closely and advocate for a transit system that is frequent, reliable, accessible, and well-funded for all residents.