The Memphis City Council took a step Tuesday on how money tied to data centers will be handled, approving Ordinance 5989 on second reading. A mix-up on the day’s agenda briefly left the impression that several larger data center ordinances were headed to a vote in Memphis, Tenn., when they were not.
Ordinance 5989 would set up a nonprofit agency to handle money tied to community benefit agreements that accompany data center projects, including receiving, managing and distributing it. Supporters say it would add transparency and accountability by tracking those dollars and steering them to community needs. The measure still has to clear more readings before it can become law.
The agenda error caught some council members off guard. According to Councilman J.B. Smiley, the other data center ordinances were not up for action because the council earlier merged a pair of third-reading measures into one ordinance, which passed two weeks ago. The next phase is writing zoning guidelines that would govern the locations open to future data centers and the requirements they must meet.
Smiley said the question residents care about most is whether the city will pause new projects. He described a proposed 135-day moratorium that would give the administration time to bring zoning rules back for the council to adopt or amend. Until those rules exist, the pause is the proposal under discussion rather than an adopted policy.
Memphis is run under a strong-mayor system with Mayor Paul Young and a 13-member City Council, so the zoning rules and any moratorium would need action from both the administration and the council.
The issue matters most to people who live near current or proposed data center sites. City leaders are still drafting possible zoning changes and standards that may settle how and where data center projects proceed citywide.
Section: More Memphis TN politics news
Filed under: Memphis TN Politics News
