Memphis City Council’s proposed data-center moratorium faces final vote Tuesday

Memphis City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday, September 15, on final passage of a proposed 12-month moratorium covering specified approvals for new data-center and high-density-computing facilities.

Ordinance No. 5982 remains pending. The council approved it unanimously on second reading September 1, and the scheduled City Council Board Meeting begins at 4 p.m. at 125 North Main Street.

What the proposed moratorium would pause

If approved and made effective, the ordinance would pause the processing, scheduling, hearings, approvals and issuance of several development actions for new data centers and high-density-computing facilities within Memphis city limits.

The listed actions include rezoning, planned-development applications, special-use and conditional-use permits, site-plan approvals, building permits, grading permits, land-disturbance permits and other discretionary land-use approvals.

The proposal would still allow applications to be accepted for limited docketing and completeness review. Review deadlines otherwise applicable under state law, the Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code or administrative rules would be tolled during the moratorium.

Existing facilities would not automatically shut down

The proposal is not a blanket shutdown of all data-center activity. It generally would not apply to existing lawfully operating data centers that do not expand their building footprint, electrical demand, utility capacity or operational intensity.

Applications that were legally vested before the ordinance was introduced also would be exempt. Routine maintenance, repair, replacement or modernization would remain outside the moratorium when it does not materially increase operational impacts. Computing equipment that is accessory to another lawful principal use, such as a hospital, school, office or manufacturing facility, also is excluded from the definition in the proposal.

Why the council is considering the pause

The ordinance says the temporary pause would give Memphis time to study permanent development standards for data centers and high-density-computing facilities before additional applications become vested under existing rules.

The proposed study would examine zoning districts, facility size and electrical demand, buffers from homes and other sensitive locations, noise, water consumption, cooling systems, wastewater, stormwater, lighting, emergency access, backup generators, fuel storage and traffic.

It also calls for reviewing electrical infrastructure impacts and how costs tied to new high-demand facilities should be allocated, so residential and unrelated commercial utility customers are not assigned costs attributable to those developments to the extent allowed by law.

Other subjects listed for study include environmental safeguards, public notification, community engagement, a possible city capital-expenditure fund and guidelines for community-benefits agreements.

Temporary pause, separate permanent rules

The proposed moratorium would last until the earlier of 12 months after its effective date, adoption of comprehensive permanent regulations or repeal or amendment by the City Council. The ordinance also requests a progress report on permanent zoning regulations within six months of passage.

Tuesday’s vote would not establish the city’s permanent data-center framework. It would determine whether Memphis pauses specified new-development approvals while officials, council members and other participants work on longer-term rules.

Recent council discussions have included proposed approaches involving water withdrawals and cooling, environmental standards, utility and infrastructure costs, disclosure, enforcement and community protections. Those frameworks remain separate policy proposals rather than final permanent regulations.

What happens Tuesday

The council could approve, amend or reject Ordinance No. 5982. Until final passage and the ordinance’s effective date, the proposed moratorium is not in force.

For developers and property owners, the practical questions are whether a project falls within the ordinance’s definitions and covered approvals, and whether it qualifies for an exemption or waiver. If the moratorium takes effect, limited docketing and completeness review would remain available, but further processing of covered applications generally would stop during the temporary period.

Sources

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