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Memphis city council members approved a 135-day halt on data center construction Tuesday after failing to pass a proposed yearlong moratorium, drawing frustration from residents who had sought a longer pause.
The substitute ordinance emerged during a heated meeting, with some council members saying they received it on short notice and lacked time to review it. Many people in the chambers appeared shocked and confused by the proposal. After the vote, a few stayed to sing, chant and voice their displeasure.
The approved ordinance says it is intended to complement Memphis Mayor Paul Young's executive order establishing a 90-day period to study the impacts of data center development.
The proposed yearlong moratorium would have given the city time to adopt permanent zoning and development rules, establish disclosure requirements for applicants and study effects on air quality, electrical infrastructure, water protection and noise. It would not have stopped existing data center operations.
Opposition to data centers in the region dates to the construction of SpaceXAI's Colossus 1 facility in 2024. Memphis has become a hotspot for the facilities, driven by Elon Musk's SpaceXAI.
Ahead of the vote, KeShaun Pearson, the executive director of the Memphis Community Against Pollution, said residents were concerned about data centers' environmental effects and what they viewed as a lack of transparency from local government officials.
"It's as if the people who have been elected to protect us and to stand up to corporations and be that representative have just completely abdicated that responsibility, and left us to fend for ourselves", he said.
Tuesday's decision followed an earlier postponement that sparked protests in the chambers and brought an Oct. 6 meeting to an early end.
Pearson and his brother, Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson, were among a handful of people barred from council meetings after those protests. A federal judge lifted the ban, and both attended the vote. Pearson and the group have sued the city council over the ban.
Beyond Colossus 1, SpaceXAI has built two other data centers and has two under construction in Memphis and the surrounding region, including Southaven, Mississippi.
A plant in Southaven that supplies power to the company's data centers uses methane gas turbines. The NAACP and other organizations have sued over alleged pollution. On Monday, a Mississippi federal judge rejected the Trump administration's attempt to have the case dismissed.
SpaceXAI did not respond to a request for comment.
Supporters say data centers are needed to sustain the growth of artificial intelligence technology and will provide much-needed jobs. Experts counter that many of those positions are temporary construction jobs.
The Memphis dispute reflects broader public resistance. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that over half of Americans say they are not comfortable with a new data center operating in their area, with opposition also surfacing at city council meetings and town halls across the country.
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