Coffee County Commission unanimously extends moratorium on data-center permits to 12 months

At a Coffee County Commission meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to extend an existing moratorium on data-center related permits from six months to 12 months to allow more time for study and outreach. Chair (speaker S1) opened the discussion by stressing the need to protect local interests while attracting jobs and said commissioners would "look into everything we can look into."

The motion to extend the moratorium was made and, as announced at the meeting, the mover was Rodney Duncan and the motion was seconded by Laura Nettles. Chair then called for a voice vote and, after commissioners answered "Aye," staff confirmed the vote was unanimous. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally.

Commissioners debated whether to try to block prospective projects or to seek community benefits. Chair warned about a federal directive, stating: "It is executive order 14318 ... accelerating federal permitting of data center infrastructure," and said that, in his view, the order "basically ... strips communities of their ability to put roadblocks up." He urged staff and commissioners to research the order's implications for local authority.

Discussion also covered specific zoning language and permitted-use categories. Staff advised that a proposed change had been designated as an M-2 special and that any amendment to the county's zoning resolution would require a public hearing and action by the full legislative body; "you can't change" the zoning resolution immediately, staff said. Commissioners were asked to review a roughly nine-page draft amendment prepared by staff member Amanda and to avoid distributing draft copies that might confuse the public with the final product.

Infrastructure and service concerns were raised: one commissioner recommended contacting Duck River and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to assess whether local power infrastructure could support a data center, and commissioners discussed examples in other counties such as Knox County and Bridgestone's earlier local talks. A separate comment asked whether the county could require a company that causes community disruption (the speaker cited Jack Daniel's in Lynchburg as an example) to provide compensation or adjustments to property tax treatment; commissioners agreed to "look into it."

Next steps specified at the meeting included routing the amendment through the planning commission, having the county attorney prepare a resolution enabling the moratorium for the legislative body, and scheduling follow-up meetings; commissioners settled on a continuation meeting on June 10 at 4:00 p.m. The meeting concluded after a motion and second to adjourn.

The commission's actions were procedural: the moratorium extension is temporary and staff were directed to complete further analysis and follow the public-hearing process required for any zoning-resolution amendment.