Statesville City Council voted 7-1 to support the controversial I-77 South toll project to avoid paying the state millions already spent on the project.
STATESVILLE, N.C. — Statesville City Council voted Monday to affirm support for the controversial I-77 South express toll lanes to avoid paying back over $1 million to the state for money already spent on the project.
Council members voted 7-1 in favor of supporting the decision despite multiple outbursts from residents opposing the decision. The vote comes ahead of a Sept. 23 vote by the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, or CRTPO.
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The project has been a major point of debate among local governments, particularly after several municipalities previously voted against moving forward. A new state law has prompted some communities to reconsider those positions.
Under the legislation, municipalities that voted to stop the project could face financial consequences, including potentially having to repay millions of dollars already spent by NCDOT.
Cornelius and Monroe already voted to reinstate their support for the project.
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Statesville City Council also held a public hearing on a proposed 150-day moratorium on new telecommunications and data center applications.
If approved, the moratorium would temporarily stop the city from accepting, processing and approving applications within Statesville and its extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction.
The council passed the first reading of the data center moratorium, with talks of extending the pause to 180 days. The second reading will take place Sept. 14 and, if passed, the 180-day moratorium will start then.
Statesville would not be the first community in the region to consider such a pause.
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Other local governments have been weighing how to manage the growth of data centers and their potential impacts on land, infrastructure and resources.
The proposed moratorium would give Statesville leaders additional time to consider how the city wants to handle future data center development.