The Mayor Of Knoxville Plans To Introduce An Ordinance To The City Council This Summer Requesting A One-Year Moratorium On Large Data Centers In The City And Has Asked The Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission To “Review And Provide Guidance” Around Facilities In The City Limits In The Meantime. Meanwhile, The Metro Nashville Council Is Considering An Emergency Temporary Ban On New Data Center Developments.
Image Credit: Knoxville Government & Canva
Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon plans to introduce an ordinance to the City Council this summer requesting a one-year moratorium on large data centers in the city and has asked the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission to “review and provide guidance” around facilities in the city limits in the meantime, citing concerns about the impact of data centers on immediate neighbors and the broader community.
Kincannon’s letter specifically seeks “recommendations for a potential ordinance to provide guardrails for the site selection and operational requirements of data centers within the City,” and elaborates that her proposed moratorium will provide adequate time for Planning staff to work with the “City’s team of experts in Sustainability, Policy, Law, Plans Review and Inspections, and others to prepare a recommendation for Planning Commission and ultimately, City Council.”
And as the Knox County Commission has also asked the Commission to prepare recommendations for data center development, she proposes the city and county coordinate their efforts “or at minimum adopt a unified approach.”
Knox County Commissioner Andy Fox, who sponsored the resolution mentioned by Kincannon asking the Planning Commission to recommend amendments to the Zoning Ordinance to define and add specific requirements for data centers, will likewise be proposing a moratorium on data centers at the next commission meeting.
If approved, it would forbid any permitting, vesting, construction, operation, or location of data center facilities, defined to include AI facilities, cryptocurrency-mining operations, or blockchain computing centers, within Knox County until June 30, 2027. Commissioners will vote on the resolution during the June 22 meeting.
More and more Tennessee municipalities are working to create regulation frameworks around data centers, even if there are not yet plans to bring one to their area, as residents’ concerns grow louder about potential health, environmental, and financial impacts the facilities could have.
Two cities, Cedar Hill and McMinnville, approved 2-year and 18-month moratoriums respectively on any data center construction in the area, planning to use the time to weigh more permanent options and study the issue further. And two petitions are being circulated against a planned expansion at Fisk University which will include a huge data center.
Blount County residents flocked to a Planning Commission meeting at the end of May to express objections to bringing any data centers to the area after rumors started swirling about a proposed facility in Alcoa. The rumors were dispelled by city and county leaders who confirmed neither entity had been approached about bringing a center or had any current plans to do so, and residents made clear they had no interest in reversing that position anytime soon.
And a proposed center near the Nashville Zoo has sparked intense community pushback as the Metro Council is weighing a measure to institute stringent regulations for data centers. The Council will also now reportedly be considering an emergency temporary ban on new data center developments until November after it was discovered the project around the zoo may be significantly larger than initially presented.
DC Blox, the Georgia-based company looking to build the data center on property abutting the zoo parking lot, has filed permit applications to build a 69,220 square foot facility, proposing to demolish two existing buildings and construct a single-story building with its related infrastructure.
But recently uncovered planning documents show the original 10-megawatt data center and an additional 40-megawatt center comprised of a three-story, 202,000 square foot building. Each building is shown to have and a generator yard, power substation, and guard house.
In response to this new development, the zoo’s land-use attorney, Bill Herbert who is also the former Metro Codes Director, has filed a zoning appeal seeking to overturn the filed permits and prevent any more from being approved.
“As we move forward, we have taken the next step in our fight against the proposed data center,” a zoo spokesperson said. “We are asking the public to continue to contact the Metro Nashville Council Members and Nashville’s Mayor sharing their support for the Zoo.”
The Metro Planning Commission will hear and discuss the Council’s proposed ordinance looking to create the city’s first-ever data center zoning rules at its meeting this Thursday, June 11.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
