Bristol VA

Bristol VA Takes Up Data-Center Special-Use Permit

Q: What did Bristol VA actually do on data centers this week?

Unanimous first reading Tuesday of an ordinance that would require a special use permit before a data center could locate in Bristol, Virginia. Second and final reading is Sept. 8, 2026. If that reading passes, the ordinance would become effective Oct. 8. Vice Mayor Neal Osborne said no companies are currently seeking to build there.

Q: Does a special-use-permit rule reprice a Bristol or Kingsport house?

Not by itself. A first reading is a process vote, not a comparable sale. Disclose Sept. 8 and the Oct. 8 effective date if a buyer asks. Price to closed comps in the local REALTOR MLS, condition, and days on market. No company is seeking a data center in the city on Osborne’s tape.

Q: How is this different from other Tri-Cities data-center files on this desk?

Other posts cover other governments. This file is Bristol, Virginia: unanimous first reading, special use permit, Sept. 8 second reading, Oct. 8 effective if it passes, Community Development Director Jay Detrick on Planning Commission and council hearings. Do not average a Virginia first reading with a Tennessee moratorium.

Q: What should Tri-Cities owners do this week?

If you own in Bristol, keep the dates: second reading Sept. 8, 2026; effective Oct. 8 if it passes; Osborne said no current applicants. Price to closed comps. Start with a free home evaluation at kingsofrealestate.com/l/home-evaluation/ or ask about a cash offer. Call 865-365-2280.

Bristol, Virginia, City Council unanimously approved first reading this week of an ordinance requiring a special use permit for data centers. Second reading is Sept. 8; if it passes, the rule would take effect Oct. 8, the Bristol Herald Courier and WCYB reported.

Tracy King

31 Aug 2026 • 6 min read

Bristol, Virginia, unanimously passed first reading this week of a data-center special-use-permit ordinance; second reading is Sept. 8, effective Oct. 8 if it passes.

Bristol, Virginia, City Council held a public hearing and first reading this week on an ordinance that would require data centers to obtain a special use permit before building in the city, WCYB reported Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. Reporter Audrey Eary's clip, updated Sunday, Aug. 30, is the first-reading tape. The Bristol Herald Courier's David McGee wrote Friday that the council unanimously approved that first reading Tuesday. A second and final reading is scheduled for Sept. 8. If that reading passes, McGee reported, the ordinance would become effective Oct. 8. Vice Mayor Neal Osborne said no companies are currently seeking to build data centers in Bristol. This is not Kingsport's quarry rezoning, not the Kendrick Creek apartments, and not Johnson City's tax-relief ordinance already on this desk.

Osborne told WCYB: "What we are doing currently is a good proactive step to maybe dissuade people from looking at Bristol as a landing spot for data centers." He told the Herald Courier: "I'm very glad to see that we're making it more difficult for data centers to come into the city of Bristol," and "Data centers have no friend in me." Resident Madison McConnell told WCYB she worries about groundwater: "I don't want them taking advantage of the water that we have in the ground here." Mike Jarvis said large-money projects from people who do not live there should be decided by people the project would affect locally. Kevin Pelorus said the public has made clear it does not want data centers popping up "until we know more, at the very least." If approved, WCYB said, the ordinance would add an additional review process for any future data center proposal in Bristol.

What did Bristol VA actually do on data centers this week?

First reading and a public hearing. Not a ban. Not a site plan. Not a certificate of occupancy. McGee: on Tuesday the council unanimously approved an ordinance that would require any proposed data center to secure a special use permit and that defined which zoning districts such a use would be legal. Second and final reading is expected Sept. 8. Effective date if it passes: Oct. 8. Osborne said no companies are currently seeking to build there. Eary did not print a first-reading roll-call; McGee printed unanimous. This desk will not invent a 6-1 or a 5-2. The named date is Sept. 8 for the next reading. The named officials are Vice Mayor Neal Osborne and Community Development Director Jay Detrick. The named outlets are WCYB and the Bristol Herald Courier.

Do not mash this into Carter County's AI data-center moratorium, Knox County's moratorium recommendation, or Sevierville's data-center moratorium. Those are different governments and different files. Bristol, Virginia, is the Tennessee-Virginia state line city in the Tri-Cities market. A special-use-permit overlay is a review process. It is not a Northeast Tennessee Association of REALTORS median. It is not a Kingsport millage.

Bristol VA data-center tape	Figure	Source
First reading	Unanimous, Tuesday this week (public hearing + first reading)	Bristol Herald Courier, David McGee, Aug. 28, 2026; WCYB, Audrey Eary, Aug. 27 (updated Aug. 30)
Next step	Second and final reading Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026; effective Oct. 8 if approved	Herald Courier; WCYB
Applications on file	Vice Mayor Neal Osborne: no companies currently seeking to build data centers in Bristol	WCYB
By-right change	Data or call centers removed as a by-right use in B-2, B-3, O-I, M-1, and Flexible Redevelopment; locate only with a special use permit in B-2, B-3, O-I, M-1, M-2, plus Flexible Redevelopment	Herald Courier, citing Detrick
If approved	Public hearing at Planning Commission, then public hearing at City Council; conditions may attach to any permit	Jay Detrick to council, Herald Courier
Named residents on tape	Madison McConnell (water); Mike Jarvis (local control); Kevin Pelorus (wait until more is known)	WCYB
30-year fixed (context)	6.66% as of Aug. 27, 2026	Freddie Mac PMMS

Does a special-use-permit rule reprice a Bristol or Kingsport house?

Not by itself. A first reading is a process vote. It is not a comparable sale. Disclose the Sept. 8 second reading and the Oct. 8 effective date if a buyer asks what Bristol, Virginia, is doing on data centers. Price the house to closed comps in the local REALTOR MLS, condition, and days on market. Do not mark a West Bristol ranch up because Osborne wants to dissuade landing spots. Do not cut a Johnson City bungalow because McConnell talked about groundwater. Kingsport's $1.67 tax-rate file and Johnson City's Ordinance 4950-26 tax relief are separate posts. They are not this lead.

Freddie Mac's Aug. 27 Primary Mortgage Market Survey has the 30-year fixed at 6.66%. A few basis points will not reprice a Colonial Heights split-level the way a full point would. Waiting for that full point while other Tri-Cities sellers list into the same dip is a different decision than Bristol took first reading. No company is seeking a data center in the city on Osborne's tape. Do not write a rumor campus into a listing remark. Detrick called this the first step and said staff is also considering splitting data and call centers in the definitions and considering different levels based on size. That later split, if it comes, is a new file. Until then, the fact is the special-use-permit change.

Can I buy the next Tri-Cities house before this one sells?

You can write the offer. A contingent contract on a Sullivan, Washington, or Carter County clock is still a maybe when the next seller already has a buyer who is not waiting on a special-use-permit explainer. Our proven system puts a written sale date under this house so the next offer is a real buyer.* If you need a date certain, ask about a cash offer. The two-house trap did not change because Bristol, Virginia, scheduled Sept. 8: you cannot honor the next address until this one is settled, and you will not list until you know where you are going.

How is this different from other Tri-Cities data-center files on this desk?

Carter County's moratorium, Knox County's recommendation, Sevierville's ordinance, and Kingsport's industrial-district rules are other governments. This file is Bristol, Virginia: unanimous first reading Tuesday, special use permit required if the ordinance passes, second reading Sept. 8, effective Oct. 8, Osborne on no current applicants, Detrick on Planning Commission plus council hearings. Keep the cities in separate folders. Do not average a Virginia first reading with a Tennessee moratorium into a fake regional ban. Named reporter on television is Eary. Named reporter in print is McGee. WCYB updated Sunday, Aug. 30.

A special use permit, if the second reading passes, is an extra hearing on a named site, not a citywide prohibition and not a site plan for a building that does not exist. No applicant is in the door on Osborne's clip. Detrick said M-2 was added because it is best equipped to handle additional noise and traffic. Conditions could attach to any permit. That is the extra protection he described, not a millage and not a listing price.

Tri-Cities owners already have files on Kingsport's $1.67 rate, Johnson City Ordinance 4950-26, and other data-center posts. Those URLs stay those URLs. This URL is Bristol, Virginia, first reading, Sept. 8 second reading, Oct. 8 effective if it passes. If you close the week of Labor Day, the second reading is the Tuesday after the holiday. Put Sept. 8 on the calendar. Do not skip it because the first reading felt quiet.

What should Tri-Cities owners do this week?

If you own in Bristol, keep Eary and McGee: unanimous first reading on a data-center special-use-permit ordinance; second reading Sept. 8, 2026; effective Oct. 8 if it passes; Osborne said no companies are currently seeking to build.
Price your house to closed comps — not to a first reading.
Do not retell Kingsport's quarry, Kendrick Creek, or Johnson City tax relief as this lead. Those posts are separate.
Start with a home evaluation. Ask about a cash offer if timing is the problem.

Call Kings of Real Estate at 865-365-2280. Knoxville office: 121 Suburban Road, Suite 101. Licensed agents: $250/mo desk fee.

What's happening in the Tri-Cities this week

Bristol, Virginia, data-center ordinance — unanimous first reading Tuesday this week; second and final reading Tuesday, Sept. 8; effective Oct. 8 if approved (Herald Courier; WCYB)
Labor Day — Monday, Sept. 7, 2026

Sources: WCYB, Bristol Virginia Council Considers Ordinance Requiring Permits for Data Centers (Audrey Eary, Aug. 27, 2026, updated Aug. 30: first reading, Sept. 8 second reading, Osborne, McConnell, Jarvis, Pelorus); Bristol Herald Courier, Bristol Virginia to require a data center to secure special use permit (David McGee, Aug. 28, 2026: unanimous Tuesday, Oct. 8 effective, Detrick on hearings and zoning districts); Freddie Mac PMMS, 30-year 6.66% as of Aug. 27, 2026.

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