Rocky Top adds clear definition to data center ordinance
City Council: ‘Still none planned’
A new Rocky Top police officer, Raymond Surber, is sworn in by City Recorder Amanda Daugherty during last Thursday night’s City Council meeting at City Hall. At left is Councilman Keith Daniels. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
In March, the council had unanimously passed on first reading Ordinance 620, which amends the city’s zoning regulations to include data centers, and gave the measure another unanimous “yes” vote on final reading during the April meeting.
In May, the council sought to make the zoning ordinance clearer on the issue of data centers by passing an amendment on first reading that gives a technical definition of a data center, which essentially is a centralized computer facility that can store massive amounts of digital data.
That amendment was given unanimous final approval (4-0, with Councilman Richard Duff absent) on Thursday night, during the June regular council meeting.
Although there were about 20 people present in the council room during a public hearing on the amendment just before the council meeting began, no one had any comments about the data center definition measure.
In March, Mayor Kerry Templin told the council that by law, the city couldn’t outright ban data centers, but that it could regulate them.
And even though he said no one had yet approached the city about bringing one to Rocky Top, he said the ordinance is necessary because without it, a data center could be built “anywhere in town.”
The zoning change was recommended by the city planner, Templin said, to allow the city to stay ahead of the issue of data centers, which are popping up all across the nation as AI (artificial intelligence) development continues its rapid growth.
He noted that usually these data centers are very noisy, and draw huge amounts of power from the electrical grids where they operate.
In other business Thursday night:
City Manager Mike Ellis told the council that the city’s annual Independence Day celebration would begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 4.
Raymond Surber was sworn in as a new city police officer by City Recorder Amanda Daugherty.
The council passed 4-0 on first reading a zoning change ordinance that would rezone some property on North Main Street to C-1, General Commercial, from the present R-1, Low Density Residential. It still must pass on second reading to take effect, and should be on the July 16 council agenda.
Hired Mitchell Emert and Hill accountants to perform the city’s annual audit for fiscal year 2026 at a cost of $40,900.
