Rocky Top passes data center zoning
Work began Monday on demo;ition of these bleachers at the George Templin Memorial Athletic Field in Rocky Top to make way for expanded seating and other upgrades. (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.
The council gave the measure another unanimous “yes” vote on final reading Thursday night.
The vote came during the regular April council meeting, following a public hearing a half-hour before the meeting. In the hearing and during the council meeting, several people in attendance expressed concerns about allowing the centers in the city.
But Mayor Kerry Templin told them that by law, the city can’t ban data centers – although it can regulate them.
And even though he said no one had yet approached the city about bring one to Rocky Top, he said the ordinance is necessary because without it, a data center could be built “anywhere in town.”
“I don’t know that anyone would ever want to,” Templin also said.
He said the current zoning ordinance did not mention data centers, so there were no regulations to limit them.
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 to grow.
He noted that usually these data centers are very noisy, and draw huge amounts of power from the electrical grids where they operate.
Templin reiterated in the pre-meeting hearing that “nobody has yet told us they want to bring a data center here,” but he also noted that “you can get a lot of [tax] revenue out of them.”
The city can limit how close the centers could be to schools, residences and certain other facilities, he said.
“We’re not promoting data centers,” Councilman Jeff Gilliam said.
In other business Thursday night:
n Templin said the Dollar General Market in Rocky Top should be reopening by the end of April, after being closed by a fire last month that was deliberately started inside the store.
“A kid went in there and set it on fire,” he said.
Damage was minimal, but because of the use of fire extinguishers by staff to put out the fire, the store had to be restocked, the mayor said.
The juvenile has been arrested and charged with arson, Police Chief John Thomas told the council.
n The council passed on first reading proposed Ordinance 623, which would require owners of mobile home parks and apartment complexes to install “master” water meters to their properties, at their own expense.
The property owners then would be held responsible for the total water bill for all mobile homes or apartments in the complexes, and face cutoff of water by the city if the master bill is not paid.
It would be the property owners’ responsibility to install individual water meters to each apartment unit or mobile home, and collect the appropriate amount for water and sewer use from each tenant.
The conversion to master water meters would be required to be completed no later than 24 months after the ordinance passes on second and final reading.
This setup is intended to prevent the city from having to chase down former tenants of these properties to collect unpaid utility bills after they move out.
n The council adopted on final reading an ordinance setting the city’s annual budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins July 1, on a 5-0 vote.
n The council approved separate 2.5% rate increases for water and sewer service for residential, commercial and industrial customers, to take effect July 1.
This follows and is on top of an identical 2.5% increase passed last year, which went into effect on July 1, 2025.
n City Manager Mike Ellis said the contractor would begin demolition of the bleachers at the George Templin Memorial Athletic Field on Monday (April 18).
The council in December approved a $904,090 contract for modernizing the ballpark, which includes new bleachers, press box, and concessions stand, and some restroom upgrades.
First Place Finish, Inc., an Oak Ridge-based contractor, was awarded the contract for the project, for which the city has received a state recreation grant of up to $566,000.
The city must match the amount of grant funding dollar for dollar, and will do so using a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan.
Besides the new bleachers, with about 400 seats, and the press box, the city also will use part of the grant to rebuild a walking trail around the park, and install a new chain-link fence around the field.
Ellis has said that the seating area and other facilities, including restrooms, at the ballfield needed upgrades that would make them compliant with standards mandated by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
