The Metro Council took steps to regulate data centers in Davidson County.
At its meeting on Tuesday, the council passed several bills, 1391, 1392, and 1448, that will place limits on data centers in the county.
The bills will now go to Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s desk for him to sign into law.
Bill 1391 will place restrictions on where data centers can be located in Davidson County. The bill bans data centers over 500,000 square feet. It also includes limits on noise levels and a requirement for a closed-loop cooling system.
Data centers between 20,000 square feet and 499,000 square feet will only be permitted in industrial zoning districts.
Bill 1392 puts design requirements on data centers. It says data centers facing “public right-of-way or a parcel zoned a non-industrial zoning district shall be constructed of brick, brick veneer, stone, cast stone, cementitious siding, glass, or materials substantially similar in form and function.”
The bill adds that the “Zoning Administrator, based on a recommendation from the planning department, may waive this requirement if the building façade is not visible from the adjacent parcel or the public right-of-way.”
Bill 1448 places a temporary moratorium on new data center development in Davidson County. The council voted for Council Member Courtney Johnston’s (District 26) amendment to the bill that extends the moratorium from November 1st to December 1st.
Johnston said the extra time will allow council members to do more work on policies surrounding data centers.
Council Member Joy Styles (District 32) said the temporary moratorium was the “smartest thing” for the council to do so it can have time to “think things through.”
On top of all these bills, the council passed condemnation legislation that allows Metro to use eminent domain to seize the land next to the Nashville Zoo to prevent a data center from opening there.
If the Metro Government purchases the land, it will go towards public use.
DC BLOX recently purchased the land for $23 million, according to The Nashville Scene.
During the public comment period, numerous people spoke in support of putting regulations on data centers.
Richard Massey, a labor organizer, came all the way from Memphis to discuss how AI centers have impacted the city.
He noted there is a reason why cities nationwide have put in restrictions surrounding data centers. “We need ample time to study and regulate this massive technological expansion that is exploiting entire communities,” he explained.
Massey said AI technology should “work for us” rather than “against us.”
He added that, from what he is seeing in Nashville and Memphis, AI is “harming working-class communities that have already suffered from generations of legacy pollution.”
Whitney Atkinson, who works for the Nashville Humane Association, asked committee members to consider the potential effects noise would have on the animals at the Nashville Zoo.
She said research shows chronic noise impacts animals’ behavior, including increasing stress, impacting feeding and maternal care, and social interactions.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
