Knoxville City Council approved a resolution banning the development of data centers for one-year.
In June, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon sent a letter to the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Committee saying she planned to introduce an ordinance to temporarily ban these data centers.
According to the ordinance, Knoxville will ban large data centers, defined as sites that use more than 10 megawatts of electricity and are designed for data processing, data storage, or cryptocurrency mining.
The moratorium will be in place till July 7th, 2027.
During the moratorium, Knoxville can’t issue any “permits, zoning approvals, building approvals, utility extensions, building permits, text amendments, or development agreements” for large data centers.
Knoxville will develop new zoning regulations for large data centers during the one-year hiatus, the ordinance notes.
“The City of Knoxville is committed to protecting the health, safety, and welfare of its residents through thoughtful, informed, and responsible land use regulation,” the ordinance says.
Knoxville’s ordinance says the city “acknowledges the critical role that data centers play in powering the evolving digital economy but also recognizes that in recent years some data centers have rapidly developed into large, complex, industrial-sized facilities with the potential for significant negative impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.”
The ordinance says large data centers can strain public utilities, including energy and water, and affect environmental sustainability.
If the city did not act, the ordinance says these data centers would only be subject to industrial zoning district regulations, which “may not adequately mitigate localized noise, air pollution, and other impacts.”
Knoxville joins the growing list of local governments imposing a moratorium on data centers.
Coffee County and Knox County have implemented a moratorium on these entities.
Davidson County, Wilson County, and Hamilton County are all considering implementing a moratorium on data centers.
St. Joseph’s board of commissioners passed an ordinance on first reading last week banning data centers in the town of around 1,000 people. Last year, Hawkins County banned data centers.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
