Nashville Councilmember Seeks 90-Day Data Center Freeze Over Zoo Leopard Risks
Updated
Updated · ZDNet · Jun 11
Nashville Councilmember Seeks 90-Day Data Center Freeze Over Zoo Leopard Risks
3 articles · Updated · ZDNet · Jun 11
Summary
Courtney Johnston filed a 90-day moratorium and a zoning-code amendment after a proposed 69,220-square-foot data center surfaced behind the Nashville Zoo.
The push centers on fears that generator noise, cooling systems, lighting and runoff could disrupt the zoo’s clouded leopard breeding program and nearby habitat, including a tributary tied to an endangered crawfish.
Johnston is also challenging the project’s classification as “general office,” a label used because Nashville’s code does not define data centers and that avoided an environmental review.
DC Blox says it has operated near schools and neighborhoods without complaints, will use water-saving cooling, manage noise to local limits and shield lighting, while arguing the site is a communications facility, not an AI factory.
The fight has drawn 385,000-plus petition signatures and reflects a wider backlash: Nashville already has about 12 data centers, while 77 active moratoriums nationwide show local governments scrambling to catch up.