By admin 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — In a matter of weeks, Charlotte City Council members will have to make a final decision on the I-77 South toll lane project.
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Their vote holds a lot of weight in whether the controversial plans move forward. They discussed this at a council committee meeting Monday evening and also gave an update on the work being done to regulate data centers.
There were talks of hiring a third-party group to do a study about potential alternatives to toll lanes for I-77 or having more community input sessions. The bottom line is there’s not much time to do either.
“I’m not sure we can do a whole lot in six weeks that will be accepted and respected by the community,” said Councilman Malcolm Graham.
The clock is ticking on the 90-day time period local leaders have to reinstate support for I-77 South toll lanes or lose millions in state funding. State leaders passed legislation requiring local governments reimburse the more than $60 million already spent on planning.
Some council members aren’t sure there’s a need for additional community engagement, since many people have made their stances clear. Several of them were in the crowd at Monday’s meeting, carrying signs in protest of the project.
There were also questions about the legality of this action from state lawmakers and where the money would come from if repayment is required. With so many questions, it’s unclear how the council will ultimately move forward.
“My goal is to get to the right answer that represents the community’s needs, so if that means we move forward with this repayment…I would much rather we make the decision that’s right for the community rather than sign ourselves up for something that folks aren’t ready to get behind,” said Councilwoman Dr. Victoria Watlington.
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While there was no clear decision at Monday’s meeting, the full Charlotte City Council will meet on August 10. There are hopes members could have a discussion then and potentially reach a conclusion on which way they’ll vote at the September 23 Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization meeting.
On the data center topic, it’s been 56 days since council passed a pause on the contentious facilities to take time to get community feedback, understand the environmental impacts, and determine what powers city leaders have to regulate the centers.
Since the start, city staff has created a focus group with concerned citizens and conducted research on noise, land-use impacts, and the cooling systems effect on water and electricity use.
Council is considering an energy conservation plan, along with a noise mitigation plan. How to enforce those requirements is also an important part of the conversation.
We are very limited by state law at present as to what we can do in this arena,” said Councilman Ed Driggs. “I think it’s encouraging to know that the legislature is addressing a lot of the same questions we are.”
The data center moratorium is set to expire November 5. There is a potential for it to be extended.
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