Metro Nashville Permanent Data Center Zoning Restrictions — 500,000 Sq Ft Cap + Heavy-Industrial Requirement (July 21, 2026)
Nashville, TN · Metro Nashville-Davidson County, permanent data center zoning ordinance (adopted July 21, 2026; 500k sq ft cap + heavy-industrial + BZA special exception)
Nashville's Metro Council enacted permanent data center zoning restrictions on July 21, 2026 — Davidson County's first-ever data center land-use rules. The ordinance bans data centers over 500,000 square feet anywhere in the county. Data centers under that threshold must be located in heavy-industrial (HI) zones and must obtain a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals after a public hearing. The rules were driven by a proposed data center adjacent to the Nashville Zoo and by the largest public-comment turnout in Metro Council history. A companion temporary moratorium (until December 1, 2026) was enacted the same night. Mayor Freddie O'Connell separately advanced eminent-domain legislation to acquire the Zoo-adjacent DC Blox parcel.
Technical detail
Ordinance adopted unanimously July 21, 2026 (companion to moratorium ordinance enacted same night). Requirements: (1) data centers exceeding 500,000 sq ft are prohibited countywide; (2) data centers under 500,000 sq ft must be sited in heavy-industrial (HI) zoning districts; (3) any data center regardless of size requires a Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) special exception with a public hearing before approval. The companion temporary moratorium (nashville-dc-moratorium-proposed) runs through December 1, 2026. Mayor O'Connell's eminent-domain bill to acquire the Zoo-adjacent DC Blox parcel also advanced. Nashville is one of the first major US cities to enact permanent categorical data center size limits.
Who is protected: Davidson County residents, especially those near proposed data center sites
Who must comply: Data center developers and operators seeking new permits or rezonings in Davidson County / Metro Nashville
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Nashville, TN |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Status | In effect |
| Protection strength | Moderate protection |
| Effective date | 2026-07-21 |
| Enacted | 2026-07-21 |
| Citation | Metro Nashville-Davidson County, permanent data center zoning ordinance (adopted July 21, 2026; 500k sq ft cap + heavy-industrial + BZA special exception) |
| Enforced by | Metro Nashville Board of Zoning Appeals; Metro Nashville Planning Department; Codes Administration |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy |
| Last verified | 2026-07-22 |
| Official source | Metro Council unanimously passes data center regulations and temporary moratorium — Fox17 ↗ |
More AI rules in Nashville, TN
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- SB 484 (FL Data Center Costs) · In effect
- Maine Data Center Moratorium (vetoed) · Vetoed
- VA Data Center Siting Bill (Vetoed) · Vetoed
- VA Data Center Tax Exemption · In effect
- VA Data Center Cost-Allocation Law · In effect
- Texas SB 6 (Data Center Grid Law) · In effect
See something wrong or out of date? Submit a correction — every entry must carry a verifiable official source.