On the agenda: Jefferson City packet — data center (Sep 28)

Regional Planning Commission Agenda
September 28, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Jefferson City Municipal Building
1.

Call to Order

2.

Approval of Minutes from Previous Meetings
a.

Minutes from August 31st 2026 Special Called Meeting

3.

Citizen Comments (Citizens should state their name, address, and limit comments to five
minutes.)

4.

Old Business

5.

New Business
a.

David Hurst - Lot Line Shift - Located Off Broadway Blvd. and Odyssey Rd.

b. Jordan Rockwell - Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment to Establish Land Use
Regulations for Advanced Compute and Data Facilities
6.

Other Items for Discussion

7.

Adjourn

1

Section 2, Item a.

Minutes
Jefferson City Special Called Regional Planning Commission
August 31st, 2026
5:30 P.M.
Members’ Present
Mitch Cain, Mayor
Scott McMinn
Kyle Cutshaw
Mary Nester

Others Present
Jeff Houston, Building Official
Will Kurtz, Codes Enforcement Officer
Jordan Rockwell, ETDD Planner

Minutes
Acting chairman Cain called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M. Motion by Mr. Cutshaw, second
by Mrs. Nester to approve the August 24th, 2026, Regional Planning Commission minutes.
Approved unanimously.

Citizens Comments
None.

Old Business

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Section 2, Item a.

None.
New Business
Ryan Rasnick (Owner) and Rakesh Kumar Patel (Potential Buyer and Developer) - Site Plan
Review for Shopping Center and Gasoline Service Station - Located at N. Highway 92 and
Hinchey Hollow Rd.
Mr. Doug Swiggum spoke on behalf of Mr. Patel and explained what the plan for the site was. It
was discussed that the plans that had been submitted did not meet the requirements for a
preliminary site plan review as they did not contain all the requirements outlined in the zoning
ordinance. Mr. Swiggum expressed that the plan sheet provided was a concept and the
potential buyer wanted more assurance that the proposed use would be allowed on that parcel
and in that zoning. It was discussed that per the Jefferson City Zoning ordinances allowed uses
in the B-1 (Neighborhood Business District) zone, the development of a gasoline service station
is an allowed use. Considering the submitted plans do not meet the requirements for a
preliminary site plan, a motion to suspend to allow time for plans that meet the requirements
to be drafted was made by Mr. Cutshaw. A second was made by Mr. McMinn. The item was
suspended unanimously.
Other Items for Discussion
None.

Adjourn
Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:48 P.M.

3

Section 5, Item a.

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Date: September 18, 2026
County: JEFFERSON
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Deeded Acreage: 27.05
Calculated Acreage: 0
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Sources: Esri, TomTom, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, © OpenStreetMap
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of the Treasury, Office of Local Government (OLG)

The property lines are compiled from information maintained by your local
county Assessor’s office but are not conclusive evidence of property
ownership in any court of law.

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Section 5, Item a.

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Section 5, Item b.

Appendix B
Advanced Compute and Data Facilities Ordinance – Jefferson City, TN

Article I: Purpose and Intent
The purpose of this ordinance is to establish comprehensive land use regulations for the
siting, construction, and operation of enterprise data centers, AI compute facilities, and
cryptocurrency mining operations. This ordinance aims to:
1. Protect residential areas and sensitive receptors from excessive noise, light, and
visual blight.
2. Mitigate extraordinary demands on local power grids and municipal water supplies.
3. Ensure sustainable building practices, adequate landscaping, and the responsible
management of electronic waste (e-waste).

Article II: Definitions
For the purposes of this ordinance, the following definitions apply:
•

Advanced Compute Facility: A facility primarily housing computer systems and
associated components dedicated to Artificial Intelligence (AI) training, machine
learning, and high-performance computing (HPC) requiring high-density power and
cooling.

•

Cryptocurrency Mining Operation: A facility containing computers and hardware
operating in an intensive, continuous capacity primarily for the purpose of verifying
and adding blockchain transactions (e.g., Proof of Work) to earn digital currency.

•

Enterprise Data Center: A building or campus of buildings utilized for the storage,
management, processing, and transmission of digital data, which may include edge
data centers, colocation facilities, and hyperscale operations.

•

Closed-Loop Cooling: A cooling system in which the heat transfer fluid is
continuously contained and recycled within the system, resulting in negligible
evaporative water loss.

•

Sensitive Receptor: Any residential dwelling, school, daycare facility, nursing
home, place of worship, or hospital.

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Section 5, Item b.

Article III: Permitted Zoning Districts & Approvals
Section 3.01 - Zoning Districts Advanced Compute Facilities, Enterprise Data Centers,
and Cryptocurrency Mining Operations are heavily industrial in their utility and noise
profiles. As such, they shall only be permitted in the following zoning districts: M2 Heavy
Industrial.

Article IV: Dimensional and Setback Standards
Section 4.01 - Setbacks To mitigate noise and visual impacts, all buildings, outdoor
mechanical equipment, cooling towers, and electrical substations associated with the
facility must observe the following minimum setbacks:
•

From Sensitive Receptors: 1,000 feet from the property line of any existing
sensitive receptor or residentially zoned district.

•

From Public Rights-of-Way: 100 feet.

•

From Adjacent Industrial Property Lines: 50 feet.

Section 4.02 - Height Limits The maximum building height, inclusive of all roof-mounted
HVAC, cooling towers, and ventilation equipment, shall not exceed 35 feet.

Article V: Environmental and Nuisance Standards
Section 5.01 - Noise Regulations Because these facilities require continuous, highvolume cooling, noise generated by fans, chillers, and servers must be strictly controlled:
•

The continuous noise levels emitted from the property line shall not exceed 55 dBA
during daytime hours (7:00 AM to 10:00 PM) and 45 dBA during nighttime hours
(10:00 PM to 7:00 AM).

•

Applications must include an acoustical study conducted by a certified sound
engineer demonstrating that ambient noise at the nearest residential property line
will not increase by more than 3 dBA above baseline.

Section 5.02 - E-Waste Management Due to the rapid depreciation and replacement cycle
of specialized compute hardware (particularly ASIC miners and AI accelerators), the facility
operator must submit an E-Waste Management Plan. This plan must guarantee that 100%
of decommissioned servers, drives, and network equipment are recycled through an R2 or

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Section 5, Item b.

e-Stewards certified electronics recycler, prohibiting the disposal of e-waste in local
municipal landfills.

Article VI: Resource Consumption and Utilities
Section 6.01 - Water Usage and Cooling To protect local water security:
•

All new facilities are required to use closed-loop cooling systems (e.g., dry coolers,
direct-to-chip liquid cooling, or immersion cooling).

•

The use of "once-through" municipal water cooling or highly evaporative open-loop
cooling towers is strictly prohibited.

•

Facilities shall not draw from municipal potable water supplies for cooling
purposes. If supplemental water is required, operators must use reclaimed
greywater or privately sourced non-potable water, subject to local environmental
agency approval.

Section 6.02 - Power Infrastructure
•

Applicants must provide a "Will Serve" letter from the local electrical utility
confirming that the grid can sustain the facility's peak load without jeopardizing
residential or commercial service reliability.

•

Facilities exceeding 10 Megawatts (MW) of continuous power draw must
incorporate a Renewable Energy Integration Plan or participate in utility demandresponse programs to curtail load during grid emergencies.

Article VII: Architectural and Landscape Buffering
Section 7.01 - Visual Screening
•

Landscape Buffer: A minimum 50-foot-wide landscaped buffer yard is required
along any property line facing a public right-of-way or non-industrial property.

•

Planting Density: For every 100 linear feet of buffer, the operator must plant a
minimum of 4 large evergreen trees, 2 deciduous canopy trees, and 15 evergreen
shrubs (minimum height of 4 feet at planting) to provide year-round screening.

Section 7.02 - Architectural Standards Large, blank corrugated steel or unfinished
concrete walls are prohibited on facades facing public rights-of-way. Facades must

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Section 5, Item b.

incorporate varied textures, architectural metal panels, fenestration, or parapet walls to
break up the mass of the building.

Article VIII: Generator and Substation Regulations
Section 8.01 - Electrical Substations Private substations required for the facility must be
located behind the principal building, set back at least 100 feet from public roads, and
screened by an opaque wall or fence at least 8 feet in height, supplemented by dense
evergreen landscaping.
Section 8.02 - Backup Generators
•

Generators must meet or exceed the EPA's Tier 4 emissions standards.

•

Routine testing of backup generators is restricted to weekdays between 9:00 AM and
5:00 PM and shall not exceed 10 hours total per month.

•

Generators must be fully enclosed in sound-attenuating housing to ensure
compliance with the property-line noise limits established in Section 5.01.

Article IX: Compliance and Enforcement
Section 9.01 - Annual Reporting Facility owners must submit an annual compliance
report to the Jefferson City Building Official detailing:
1. Average daily water consumption.
2. Log of noise complaints received and remedial actions taken.
3. Verification of proper e-waste disposal with accompanying vendor manifests.
4. Total hours of backup generator operation.

Section 9.02 - Penalties Failure to maintain compliance with the noise limits or utility caps
outlined in this ordinance may result in daily fines and/or suspension of the facility's
certificate of occupancy.

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