Metro Council to hear public comment on data center bills
Nashville's Metro Council is scheduled to hear public comment and take a second vote on several bills concerning data center development, including new zoning rules with a ban on large facilities, buffer zones, and a temporary moratorium on new permits. Mayor Freddie O'Connell supports the zoning and moratorium bills and has filed legislation to condemn property intended for a DC Blox data center near the Nashville Zoo. The growing interest in data center regulation follows recent project announcements by DC Blox and Fisk University.
The Nashville Metro Council is poised to conduct public hearings and a second of three required votes on four bills impacting data center development. Two of these bills (BL2026-1391 and BL2026-1392) aim to establish new zoning rules, which include prohibiting the largest data centers and mandating buffer zones to prevent construction near sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals, and transit corridors.
A third bill (BL2026-1448) proposes a temporary moratorium on issuing permits for new data centers. However, this moratorium's practical effect is uncertain, as it is designed to be lifted once the new zoning regulations are in place, with all three bills potentially passing simultaneously. The Metro Council has set up a queue system to manage public comments at the upcoming hearings, anticipating significant community turnout.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell has publicly backed BL2026-1391 and BL2026-1448. Furthermore, the Mayor has introduced a late-filed piece of legislation to initiate the condemnation process for a property adjacent to the Nashville Zoo, where the data center company DC Blox plans to build a facility. This legislative move, which could face objections from two councilmembers, underscores the heightened focus on data center regulation in Nashville, following recently announced projects from DC Blox and Fisk University.