Nashville residents fighting proposed data center next to zoo
Residents in Nashville, Tennessee are actively fighting a proposed 70,000 square-foot data center by DC Blox located next to the Nashville Zoo, citing concerns about noise, fumes, bright lights, and impact on animals and water supply. An online petition against the project has garnered nearly 400,000 signatures. The Metro City Council has responded by proposing a temporary ban on data center development and considering new measures to restrict their location and resource use.
Residents in Nashville, Tennessee are vehemently opposing a proposed 70,000 square-foot data center slated for construction directly adjacent to the Nashville Zoo. Concerns primarily revolve around potential environmental impacts such as noise, fumes, and bright lights, which residents fear could adversely affect the zoo's more than 3,000 animal species, including endangered clouded leopards, by disrupting their photo periods, breeding cycles, and increasing stress levels.
During a public hearing, residents, supported by country music star Brad Paisley who urged followers to sign an online petition, packed the venue to voice their objections. The petition has since accumulated nearly 400,000 signatures. DC Blox, the company behind the data center, has attempted to address some concerns, refuting what it calls "misinformation" and stating that generators would be placed on the opposite side of the building from the zoo. However, zoo officials remain skeptical that any resolution could fully mitigate the project's magnitude and its proximity to the animals.
In response to the widespread opposition, the Nashville Metro City Council has proposed a temporary ban on all data center development within the city until at least November. Concurrently, city lawmakers are considering additional legislative measures aimed at limiting where data centers can be built and regulating the resources they are permitted to use, including potential impacts on the local water supply.