Nashville ordinance & moratorium
No project stage is auto-generated. What follows is the
timeline of record — every entry dated, cited and linked to its source.
Timeline of record
- Aug 5VOTE·Davidson Co., TNMetro Nashville's council approved legislation authorizing the city to negotiate with data center company DC Blox for purchase of a property near the Nashville Zoo, with eminent domain as an option if talks fail. The city could repurpose the land for government operations and office space.Williamson Source · Davidson Co., TN
- Aug 5MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNMetro Nashville Council voted to authorize city staff to acquire property near the Nashville Zoo designated for a proposed DC BLOX data center, allowing officials to begin purchase negotiations or pursue eminent domain proceedings.WTVC · Davidson Co., TN · also at WTVC
- Aug 5MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNMetro Council approved legislation authorizing the city to acquire property where DC Blox plans to build a data center adjacent to the Nashville Zoo through negotiation or eminent domain if needed. The city would pay at least the market value of approximately $37.4 million for the property.WSMV · Davidson Co., TN
- Aug 5LAWSUIT·Davidson Co., TNMetro Council voted 27-5 to authorize the city to use eminent domain to acquire more than 23 acres near the Nashville Zoo that data center company DC Blox purchased for $23 million. The city plans to negotiate a price with DC Blox for the property, which the company intended to develop into a 10-megawatt data center.News Channel 5 Nashville · Davidson Co., TN
- Aug 4MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNMetro Council is expected to vote Tuesday on authorizing the city to acquire a 23.49-acre property beside the Nashville Zoo where DC BLOX plans a controversial 10-megawatt data center through negotiated purchase or eminent domain.WZTV · Davidson Co., TN
- Aug 4MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNThe Metro Council will take a final vote Tuesday on legislation to potentially use eminent domain to acquire property next to the Nashville Zoo for a data center developer. The proposal has 14 sponsors and passed its second reading 27-3, though some council members raised concerns about costs and legal risks.Nashville Banner · Davidson Co., TN
- Aug 3MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNSouthern Alliance for Clean Energy · Davidson Co., TN
- Aug 3LAWSUIT·Davidson Co., TNMetro Council is scheduled for a final vote Tuesday on Mayor Freddie O'Connell's proposal to use eminent domain to acquire a property where DC Blox plans to build a data center adjacent to the Nashville Zoo. The company closed a $23 million purchase of the site and applied for a building permit despite Metro's legislative efforts to stop the project.Axios · Davidson Co., TN
- Aug 2VOTE·TennesseeCountry music legend Willie Nelson opposes data centers coming to his hometown of Abbott, Texas, calling them "loud, water-thieving, light-polluting" threats to rural communities and farmland. Fellow musician Brad Paisley has similarly opposed a proposed data center near Nashville's zoo, citing environmental and aesthetic concerns.WSMV · Tennessee
- Aug 1MORATORIUM·TennesseeThe Trump administration announced a $100 billion privately funded artificial intelligence data center campus at Kentucky's former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a Cold War-era uranium enrichment facility. The project is expected to create approximately 8,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs, with Brookfield Asset Management developing the campus and NextEra Energy building power infrastructure.WBMA · Tennessee · also at mynbc15.com
- Jul 24MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNThe Nashville Zoo rejected a memorandum of understanding from DC Blox that would have limited the proposed data center to an initial 69,000-square-foot facility and included a land gift to the zoo. The zoo's board unanimously voted down the proposal, citing safety concerns about operating a data center near vulnerable species and neighboring communities.Nashville Scene · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 24MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNNashville's Metro Council advanced legislation Tuesday that would allow the city to seize an Atlanta-based company's property via eminent domain to prevent a data center construction next to the Nashville Zoo, which claims the facility's noise would stress endangered clouded leopards.Reason Magazine · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 23VOTE·Davidson Co., TNNashville Zoo's board unanimously rejected a DC Blox proposal to build a 69,000-square-foot data center adjacent to the zoo. Zoo leadership cited concerns about potential effects on animals, schools and nearby neighborhoods.WSMV · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 23MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNThe Nashville Zoo announced a temporary moratorium on development permits through December 1 following more than 562,000 petition signatures opposing a proposed nearby data center. Mayor O'Connell filed condemnation legislation citing Metro's legitimate need for the adjacent property.Local 3 News · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 23ZONING·Davidson Co., TNNashville Banner · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 23MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNNashville's Metro Council approved a pause on new data center permits through December and added zoning regulations for noise, water use, and construction distances from schools. The actions follow mounting opposition to a DC Blox facility proposed near the Nashville Zoo, which Mayor Freddie O'Connell is seeking to block through eminent domain.The Cool Down · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 22MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNNashville's Metropolitan Council approved a moratorium on data center development through December 10 and enacted regulations banning such facilities within 100 feet of churches, daycares, schools, or zoos, and large data centers within 2,640 feet of these locations. The action followed opposition to a proposed 70,000-square-foot facility near the Nashville Zoo.The Black Chronicle · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 22MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNHeadline onlyNews Channel 5 Nashville · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 22MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNNashville's Metro Council unanimously approved new zoning regulations for data centers, including distance requirements from sensitive locations and a temporary permit freeze through December. Whether the rules apply to a proposed DC BLOX facility near the Nashville Zoo remains unclear since permits were already submitted.News Channel 5 Nashville · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 22NEWS·Davidson Co., TNHeadline onlyWSMV · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 22MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNNashville's Metro Council passed its first data center regulations, which restrict facility locations based on size and energy use, limit noise levels, and constrain on-site fossil fuel generation. The council also implemented a moratorium on new data center permits until December 1 to refine policies and study environmental impacts.WPLN News · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 22MORATORIUM·AlabamaSenator Tommy Tuberville told an Alabama delegation in London that elementary school students will begin learning to use artificial intelligence next year, saying no other state is implementing such a program. Tuberville also expressed support for bringing data centers to Alabama and said his administration has hired a group to train teachers in AI instruction.AL.com · Alabama
- Jul 22MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNNashville's Metro Council passed its first data-center regulations Tuesday, including a comprehensive zoning bill that bans facilities larger than 500,000 square feet and restricts their locations to heavy industrial zones at least half a mile from schools and homes. The council also approved a temporary construction moratorium through December and advanced legislation allowing eminent domain seizure of land proposed for a data center near the Nashville Zoo.WSMV · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 22MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNMetro Council approved zoning restrictions banning the largest data centers and creating buffer zones around schools, hospitals, and zoos, along with a moratorium on new construction through December. The council also advanced the mayor's plan to acquire land next to the Nashville Zoo for public use, which could prevent DC Blox's proposed data center project.News Channel 5 Nashville · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 22MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNMetro Nashville unanimously approved comprehensive data center regulations and a temporary moratorium on new development, establishing the county's first zoning framework for such projects. The legislation now goes to Mayor Freddie O'Connell for signature.WZTV · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 22MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNNashville's Metro Council voted Tuesday to establish new data center regulations and implement a permit moratorium through Dec. 1, while advancing Mayor Freddie O'Connell's legislation to use eminent domain to purchase property where DC Blox is developing a data center near the Nashville Zoo.Nashville Banner · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 22MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNDC BLOX has purchased the Grassmere Park property for $23 million, but the proposed data center's fate remains uncertain as Metro Council considers new data center regulations, a temporary moratorium, permit appeals, and the city's potential eminent domain acquisition of the land.WZTV · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 21MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNMetro Council will hold a third and final vote Tuesday on a data center moratorium bill that would ban facilities larger than 500,000 square feet and restrict smaller ones to heavy industrial zones. The vote comes as DC Blox, which recently purchased property near the Nashville Zoo, faces potential restrictions under the new regulations.WSMV · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 21MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNDC BLOX has completed its $23 million purchase of property at Grassmere Park Drive near Nashville Zoo, according to deed records. The acquisition comes as Metro Council prepares to vote on data center regulations and a moratorium on new development.WZTV · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 21MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNDC Blox has scaled back its planned data center near Nashville Zoo, now showing only a 69,200-square-foot, 10-megawatt building on its website instead of the original two-building proposal. The company reduced its estimated capital investment from $1.9 billion to $380 million, citing community feedback as it works through project scope.News Channel 5 Nashville · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 20NEWS·Davidson Co., TNA 100,000-square-foot data center is nearing completion on Brick Church Pike in North Nashville. Neighbors have raised concerns about environmental impacts, water use, noise and school proximity, while Metro Council works to establish guidelines for data centers.News Channel 5 Nashville · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 20MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNNashville's city council will consider data center legislation Tuesday that was amended to remove environmental protections, now allowing unlimited fossil fuel generator use during undefined "emergencies" and at the discretion of the utility company. The original version capped such use at 72 hours.WPLN News · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 20MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNNashville Metro Council will hold final votes this week on three bills addressing data centers: two would restrict noise and water usage, while a third would impose a moratorium on new Davidson County sites until December.
- Jul 20MORATORIUM·Davidson Co., TNData center company DC Blox has purchased property adjacent to the Nashville Zoo for $23 million, confirmed by the Davidson County Register of Deeds. Metro Council members and Nashville's mayor say they will pursue legislation to restrict data centers and explore using eminent domain to acquire the property for city use.WKRN News 2 · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 20VOTE·Davidson Co., TNDC Blox completed a $23 million purchase of a 23.49-acre property near Nashville Zoo on Thursday, where it plans to build a data center project that has faced public opposition over concerns about noise affecting zoo animals and community objections.Davidson County Source · Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 20MORATORIUM·TennesseeEPA Administrator Lee Zeldin criticized New York's statewide pause on new data centers, calling it an easy way to avoid difficult regulatory work. He argued that local governments should evaluate individual projects based on utility costs, grid contributions, and water management rather than imposing blanket bans, as debates over data center expansion intensify in Tennessee.Yahoo · Tennessee
- Jul 18PERMIT·Davidson Co., TN
- Jul 18VOTE·Davidson Co., TNHeadline onlyWSMV · Davidson Co., TN