A temporary moratorium prohibits the acceptance, processing, approval, and issuance of zoning, building, or grading permits for any data center development in Nashville and Davidson County until November 1, 2026, or until BL2026-1391 and BL2026-1392 take effect, whichever occurs first.

Data centers are divided into accessory, small, medium, large, and campus classifications based on square footage and maximum electrical utilization capacity, with different zoning permissions and requirements for each classification.

Data center campuses—more than 500,000 square feet or more than 100 megawatts—are prohibited in Davidson County and are not permitted in any zoning district.

Accessory data centers are limited to 5,000 square feet or less and a maximum utilization capacity of 1 megawatt, must be accessory to a larger principal use, and must be located entirely within the same structure as that use.

Small data centers are limited to 20,000 square feet or less or 5 megawatts or less, may not use a dedicated power substation, and may comprise less than 30 percent of a mixed-use nonresidential building.

Small data centers must be at least 100 feet from residential uses, day-care facilities, religious institutions, community education uses, parks, zoos, correctional facilities, and other data centers.

Medium data centers, which exceed 20,000 square feet or 5 megawatts, are permitted only in specified industrial districts and must be at least 500 feet from listed sensitive uses and other data centers and 2,640 feet from the centerline of a Choose How You Move All-Access Corridor.

Large data centers, which exceed 100,000 square feet or 20 megawatts and use a dedicated power substation, are permitted only by special exception in the IR and IG districts, requiring Board of Zoning Appeals approval and a public hearing.

Large data centers must be at least 2,640 feet from residential uses, day-care facilities, religious institutions, community education uses, parks, zoos, correctional facilities, other data centers, and the centerline of a Choose How You Move All-Access Corridor.

Data center developments may not be divided among separate buildings, phases, or parcels to avoid a higher classification; expansion that increases square footage or electrical capacity requires a new permit and may trigger the standards of a higher classification.

Zoning permit applications must include written confirmation from Nashville Electric Service that it has reviewed the project, has or will have capacity, and agrees to provide service after applicable charges and fees are paid.

Zoning permit applications must include confirmation from the applicable water and sewer utility that sufficient capacity exists to serve the data center; a permit cannot be approved when the utility finds capacity insufficient.

Applicants must submit a noise impact assessment, including pre-operation and background noise measurements and mitigation measures demonstrating compliance with the applicable noise limits.

Applicants must submit a licensed-engineer-certified water consumption and sustainability plan addressing cooling demand, drought and scarcity risks, water conservation, alternative sources, and low-water or water-free cooling systems.

Applicants must submit an energy consumption and sustainability plan addressing pre-construction and projected operating loads, peak electricity demand, transmission-line alternatives, renewable energy, ASHRAE 90.4 compliance with third-party verification, electronic-equipment recycling, and other sustainability measures.

Applicants must submit lighting and transmission-line impact assessments, including potential environmental effects of new or upgraded transmission lines, tree removal on Metro-owned land, substation locations, and screening measures.

The Zoning Administrator or reviewing agencies may require additional information before approving a data center zoning permit.

Data center operators must submit an annual compliance report documenting changes to and continued compliance with the assessments, permit requirements, and zoning conditions.

Cooling and ventilation equipment for data centers must use closed-loop systems, and external cooling or ventilation equipment generally may not be placed between the primary building and a public road or right-of-way.

Substations, electrical yards, mechanical yards, and other exposed equipment are subject to location, setback, screening, and buffer-yard requirements; medium and large data center substations must generally be at least 50 feet from public rights-of-way and adjacent parcels.

Data centers must prevent light trespass onto surrounding properties and rights-of-way.

Emissions-producing generators may be used only for backup and emergency purposes, except for testing or commissioning, and generator testing is limited to 10 hours per month and generally must occur between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Emissions-producing generators must meet at least EPA Tier 4 New Source Performance Standards, be enclosed within sound-attenuation walls, and have testing logs maintained for inspection.

Data centers must meet maximum sound levels of 65 decibels during the daytime and 55 decibels during the nighttime, measured from property lines.

Small, medium, and large data centers are subject to façade, glazing, screening, buffer-yard, and building-height standards, generally limiting building height to 75 feet or the applicable district maximum, whichever is more restrictive.

A large data center may reach up to 150 feet only when it uses renewable energy sources to offset at least 50 percent of its total energy use and the additional height complies with applicable district height controls.

Data centers have added parking requirements, including spaces based on employees and building square footage, with no UZO parking-minimum exemption outside the Downtown Code districts; the Traffic Engineer may require additional parking for documented operational needs.

Accessory data centers are permitted as accessory uses in the MUG, MUI, OG, ORI, CS, CF, DTC North, DTC South, DTC West, DTC Central, DTC East, SCR, IWD, IR, and IG zoning districts, subject to being located within the same structure as the principal use, being no larger than 5,000 square feet, and having a maximum utilization capacity of 1 megawatt.

Small data centers are permitted with conditions in the CS, CF, DTC South, DTC West, DTC Central, IWD, IR, and IG zoning districts, allowing facilities of up to 20,000 square feet and/or up to 5 megawatts that do not use a dedicated power substation.

A small data center may be located in a mixed-use structure containing multiple nonresidential uses, provided it occupies less than 30 percent of the building and the structure contains no residential units.

Medium data centers are permitted with conditions in the IWD, IR, and IG zoning districts, allowing facilities larger than 20,000 and up to 100,000 square feet and/or with electrical capacity greater than 5 and up to 20 megawatts.

Large data centers may be approved by special exception in the IR and IG zoning districts, allowing facilities larger than 100,000 and up to 500,000 square feet and/or with electrical capacity greater than 20 and up to 100 megawatts, subject to Board of Zoning Appeals approval.

A large data center using renewable energy to offset at least 50 percent of its total energy use may increase its building height to as much as 150 feet, provided the additional height complies with the applicable zoning district's height and height-control-plane requirements.

A server room smaller than 500 square feet that supports a principal use and relies on that use's existing HVAC and electrical systems is excluded from the definition of a data center, allowing such rooms to avoid the separate data-center classification and requirements.

A collection of computer workstations configured solely for use by a principal use is excluded from the definition of a data center, allowing that equipment to operate without being regulated as a separate data-center use.