Mayor Freddie O'Connell Executive Order Number 059

The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County

Freddie O'Connell, Mayor

Executive Order 59

Subject: Protecting Nashville from the Impacts of Large-Scale Data Centers

1. The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County ("Metro") has a responsibility to protect public health, public infrastructure, environmental quality, economic sustainability, and quality of life for current and future residents.
2. The rapid growth of large-scale data centers, including facilities developed primarily to support cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency processing, and other high-intensity digital operations, has generated increasing concerns nationwide regarding impacts on infrastructure, the environment, nearby communities, and local economies.
3. It is necessary for Metro to identify lawful and effective tools available to address potential adverse impacts of large-scale data centers and opportunities to thoughtfully protect interests within Nashville and Davidson County.
4. State law allows moratoria to be implemented only via an ordinance that is reviewed by the local planning commission and approved by the local legislative body.
5. The Metropolitan Council and Metropolitan Planning Commission are considering legislation instituting a legislative moratorium on data centers and legislation creating zoning regulations for certain data centers.
6. The Metropolitan Department of Law continues to analyze relevant laws and opportunities to act to protect the communities of Nashville and Davidson County.
7. Therefore, this Executive Order seeks to protect Nashville from the impacts of large-scale data centers as follows:

Purpose

1. Support the expedited consideration of legislation instituting a temporary moratorium on new large-scale data center development within Nashville and Davidson County while a regulatory framework, including the review and permitting process, is developed and implemented.
2. Direct Metro departments to continue their efforts to identify and evaluate the potential impacts of large-scale data centers and provide policy recommendations to address such impacts.
3. Support implementation of measures available to Metro to prevent, mitigate, or offset adverse impacts associated with large-scale data centers.

Support for Legislative Moratorium

1. Metro departments shall provide support that enables the consideration of legislation establishing a temporary moratorium on the approval, permitting, or establishment of new large-scale data centers.
2. Support may include technical assistance, research and analysis, recommended amendatory language, and other appropriate modes.
3. A large-scale data center is a facility, campus, or collection of facilities whose principal purpose is the operation of servers, computing equipment, data storage systems, artificial intelligence processing systems, cryptocurrency processing systems, cloud computing infrastructure, or similar digital infrastructure and that either: is at least 20,000 square feet; has expected electrical demand of 5 megawatts or more; or is determined by the Department of Planning, in consultation with other Metro departments and agencies, to present substantial utility, infrastructure, environmental, or land-use impacts.

Impact Review

1. The following Metro departments shall evaluate, and Metro agencies are requested to evaluate, the potential impacts oflarge-scale data centers within Nashville and Davidson County:
   1. Department of Codes Administration
   2. Department of Health
   3. Department of Planning
   4. Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure
   5. Department of Water and Sewerage Services
   6. Nashville Electric Service
   7. Any additional department designated by the Mayor

The Department of Metropolitan Finance and Department of Law shall provide any necessary support to these departments' efforts to complete this review.

2. The impact review shall address subject areas including but not limited to:
   1. Infrastructure impacts such as electrical demand and grid capacity, effects on utility reliability, public infrastructure costs, effects on wastewater and stormwater, and transportation impacts.
   2. Environmental impacts such as energy consumption, gas emissions, air quality, water consumption, heat generation, and noise.
   3. Impacts on nearby residential communities such as compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods, the potential for disproportionate impacts, public health considerations, and other quality-of-life issues.
   4. Economic impacts such as public revenues and expenditures, opportunity costs of utility and land consumption, local business interests, and economic development priorities.

Policy Recommendations

1. Departments designated by this Executive Order to evaluate the potential impacts of large-scale data centers within Nashville and Davidson County shall provide their findings, along with proposed policy recommendations, to the Mayor's Office of Sustainability and the Mayor's Office of Economic Development within two months of the effective date of this order.
2. Policy recommendations may include proposals for administrative policy changes and proposals for legislative changes to be considered by Metro or other relevant entities. Recommendations may contemplate regulatory requirements, processes, information sharing, performance standards, incentives, enforcement mechanisms, and other means for minimizing detrimental impacts and maximizing benefits within Nashville and Davidson County.
3. Upon consideration of these recommendations, in consultation with the Department of Law, the Department of Metropolitan Finance, Metro departments and agencies, and other relevant entities, an action plan, including conditions for the termination of any moratorium in place, shall be presented to the Metropolitan Council. Metropolitan Council.

Ordered, Effective, and Issued: June 15, 2026

Freddie O’Connell

Metropolitan County Mayor