Nashville residents pack hearing to block data center near zoo

A standing-room-only crowd packed Metro Planning Commission chambers in Nashville and spilled into overflow space as residents tried to stop a data center planned next to the Nashville Zoo. The scene captured a fight that has moved far beyond one parcel at 648 Grassmere Park: how much room AI-era infrastructure should take from neighborhoods, and who gets to decide where the costs land.

The proposal tied to Georgia-based DC BLOX calls for a 69,220-square-foot facility directly beside zoo property, with planning documents also referencing a second, larger building and an electrical substation on the site. Zoo officials said the full buildout could reach 50 megawatts of power capacity, a scale that has sharpened concerns about noise, vibration, lighting, water use and around-the-clock operations so close to one of Nashville’s most visible public attractions.

That proximity matters. The Nashville Zoo said it draws about 1.4 million visitors a year and houses roughly 3,000 animals, including the endangered clouded leopard. Zoo leaders and nearby residents have argued that construction and 24/7 operations could affect animals and families alike, turning a local zoning dispute into a test of how much weight community quality-of-life concerns carry against the digital economy’s appetite for land and electricity.

The political response has already reached Metro Council. Councilmember Rollin Horton is sponsoring legislation that would create Nashville’s first countywide zoning and regulatory framework specifically for data centers, including language that would bar them next to zoos and other sensitive uses. Council members also approved the first reading of a temporary moratorium on accepting, processing, approving or issuing zoning, building or grading permits for data centers in Davidson County, though the pause still needs additional approvals before it can take effect.

The zoo has also moved to challenge the project in court, filing a zoning appeal through land-use attorney Bill Herbert, a former Metro Codes Director. Public opposition has widened beyond the zoo’s gate, helped by country music star Brad Paisley urging supporters to sign an online petition that the zoo said topped 150,000 verified signatures within days; by June 11, CBS News said the petition had nearly 400,000 signatures. DC BLOX says the project would add needed digital infrastructure and can address concerns with mitigation measures, and chief revenue officer Chris Gatch said there was “a tremendous amount of misinformation.” The showdown in Nashville comes as Tennessee already has more than 60 data centers statewide, part of a broader national backlash over the power, water and land demands of the AI buildout.