Committee OKs moratorium, full vote still needed
The county’s Economic and Agriculture Committee voted unanimously Tuesday night to place a 12-month moratorium on data centers.
The measure must gain approval from the full Warren County Commission to take effect. County Executive Terry Bell said it would be voted on June 22.
The county vote will not impact the proposed Hixson Data Center, which would be located inside the city of McMinnville and is not under county jurisdiction.
If ultimately approved by the full Warren County Commission, the moratorium will give county government time to adopt new building codes, which is the county’s main tool for addressing a potential influx of data centers.
Bell said, “We cannot place a total ban on data centers … but we can pass regulations that make it extremely hard.”
Since the county does not have zoning and does not have the Powers Act, the only other avenue available is through building codes, according to Bell.
Warren County Fire Marshal Cole Miller told the committee, “I think we need to take a step back and decide how we’re going to handle data centers through building codes.”
Miller noted this would be tricky. He said people looking to develop data centers are generally smart people who “will find loopholes in codes.”
Miller added, “Technology is moving faster than the code books.”
Industrial Development Board Executive Director Wendy Sneed told the committee that the term “data center” is used loosely to apply to all facilities, both large and small.
“Data centers are not inherently good or bad,” said Sneed. “Like any project, they should be evaluated independently.”
Economic and Agriculture Committee Chair Carl Bouldin said he’s been doing extensive research on data centers since the Hixson Data Center project was announced.
“We need to try to figure out a way to protect ourselves in the future,” said Bouldin.
Several residents were given a chance to speak and they all expressed a similar view that data centers would have a negative impact on the community.
