How is the Metro Council Addresssing Data Centers

by Rod Williams, July 11, 2026- The following is from the newsletter of Councilman Jeff Preptit, Metro Council District 25:

Legislative Update

BL2026-1391

This past week, Council considered and passed a number of bills aimed at addressing data centers in Nashville. Currently in Nashville, our zoning code is completely silent on, and does not address where data centers can be placed. Under our current code, a data center could be place on any parcel that is zoned for a commercial use. BL2026-1391, which I have co-sponsored, addresses this deficiency by placing strict regulations and conditions on where a data center could be place in Davidson County. In particular, this bill prohibits hyperscale data centers that are 500,000 square feet or more. If an entity wanted to build a hyperscale data center, under these regulations, they would be required to apply for a special exemption by the Board of Zoning Appeals, have a public hearing on the matter, and be subject to strict environmental and energy regulations. Additionally, the legislation places restrictions on small and medium scale data centers.

A small data center is defined as a data center of 20,0000 square feet in size or less and/or with a maximum utilization capacity of 5MW of electricity and which does not utilize a dedicated power substation. Under the bill currently, “No data center shall be permitted in a location that is less than 100 feet from a residential use, day care home, daycare center, religious institution, community education use, park, zoo, correctional facility, or other data center. Distance shall be measured in a straight line from the closest point of a parcel line of the parcel for which the data center is sought to the closest point of the parcel line of the parcel on which the identified uses are located.

The bill also defines a medium data center as “a data center larger than 20,000 but not to exceed 100,000 square feet in size and/or with a maximum utilization capacity greater than 20MW but not exceeding 100MW of electricity and which utilizes a dedicated power substation.”

Under this bill, “No medium data center shall be permitted in a location that is less than 500 feet from a residential use, day care home, daycare center, religious institution, community education use, park, zoo, correctional facility, or other data center or less than 2,640 feet from the centerline of a Choose How You Move (CHYM) All-Access Corridor. Distance shall be measured in a straight line from the closest point of a parcel line of the parcel for which the data center is sought to the closest point of the parcel line of the parcel on which the identified uses are located or from the closest point of a parcel line of the parcel for which the data center is sought to the centerline of identified corridors.”

BL-1391 also requires that any data center operating in Davidson County must utilize a “closed loop” cooling system that prevents the discharge of harmful chemicals and heavy metals into our water system. I am also working closely with Metro Water Services to undertake an examination of our current clean water regulations with the goal of closing loopholes across industries to ensure that no data center or any other industrial business is able to harm our vital natural resources.

BL-1391 will be before Council for its third and final reading at the next Council meeting. As a Title 17 bill, 1391 will be amendable on third reading, and I anticipate there will be a number of amendments brought forward to strengthen this bill.

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