Memphis City Council, in Shelby County, Tennessee, adopted a data-center conditions measure on August 1, 2025. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.
Memphis City Council, in Shelby County, Tennessee, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on March 4, 2025. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.
The records read: "The Memphis City Council unanimously passed Mayor Paul Young's ordinance allocating 25% of xAI's city property tax revenue — estimated at $3M-$3.2M of $13M first-year revenue, up to $100M over time — to communities within a 5-mile radius… (datacentertracker.org)." "The Memphis City Council gave final approval to sell 13 acres south of the T.E. Maxson Wastewater Treatment Plant to xAI for $820,000 to build the $80M 'Colossus Water Recycle Plant.' Councilmembers Yolanda Cooper-Sutton, Pearl Eva Walker… (datacentertracker.org)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions ordinance | condition | enacted | August 1, 2025 | not county-wide | datacentertracker.org | |
| Zoning exclusion | restriction | enacted | March 4, 2025 | not county-wide | datacentertracker.org |
Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Shelby County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Tennessee context
Tennessee has 41 documented local actions across 36 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted).
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.