Knox Planning Commission Recommends a Data Center Freeze Through June 2027

On Thursday, Aug. 13, the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission approved case 8-B-26-OB. That is not a freeze already in force on county land. It is a recommendation that Knox County Commission approve a moratorium on data centers in Knox County through June 30, 2027, or until the commission adopts new regulations governing where they can go and how they can run.

Planning staff on the case was Michelle Portier. The recommendation now goes back to County Commission for a final vote. If you own rural acreage, industrial ground, or a house next to a transmission corridor, that is the vote that actually turns the county freeze on — or leaves it off.

What did the Planning Commission vote on Aug. 13?

Case 8-B-26-OB was Other Business, all districts, applicant Knoxville-Knox County Planning. Status: Approved. The approved action is a recommendation, not a county-wide ban.

The paper trail started June 22, 2026. Knox County Commission adopted Resolution R26-6-904 — requested by Commissioners Fox, Jackson, Russell, Lee, and Thompson — and referred it to Planning. A July 28 staff memo from Michelle Portier, AICP, Planning Services Manager, said the purpose is to give Planning time to draft regulations that define data centers, say where they can locate, and set standards they have to meet. WVLT reported that the Zoning Committee discussed the matter Aug. 13 and voted to recommend approval. Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon had already called for a similar city pause so Planning could update zoning. That city pause is already law inside city limits.

Is a Knox County data center freeze already in effect?

No. Not yet.

The official case page says Approved, then immediately: "Recommend to the Knox County Commission approval of a moratorium…" Hoodline, citing WBIR, described Thursday's vote as a pause on new construction. Section 8 of R26-6-904 refers the resolution to Planning and says County Commission shall reconsider the moratorium after it gets that recommendation. That extra step is why Thursday's vote is not the last vote.

If County Commission adopts it, the freeze would run through June 30, 2027, or until new regulations are adopted, whichever comes first. The City of Knoxville is already paused. County land is not, until Commission says so.

What would the county freeze block if Commission approves it?

R26-6-904 defines a data center as a facility that primarily holds electronic equipment used to process, store, or transmit digital information, plus cooling gear, with a peak electric demand of 10 megawatts or more — or a facility that refuses to disclose its peak demand. It covers AI operations, cryptocurrency mining, and blockchain-computing centers.

If Commission adopts it, the county would forbid locating, constructing, operating, permitting, or vesting new data center facilities. No preliminary or final development plans. No building permits. No county permits, zoning approvals, utility extensions, or development agreements for establishing a data center. Facilities already operating when the resolution is adopted would be excepted.

The resolution's findings are why neighbors care: extraordinary electrical load, continuous noise from industrial cooling, and water use the county put at 200,000 to 300,000 gallons a day for a 50 MW facility. Hoodline, citing WBIR, said the practical effect would be no new data center applications, development plans, building permits, or utility extensions in unincorporated Knox County. That is what the recommended freeze would do — not what the county has finished enacting.

How is this different from the City of Knoxville's pause?

City and county have separate zoning authority.

Knoxville City Council on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, agreed to Mayor Kincannon's request for a one-year moratorium on permitting or construction of large data centers. The city's July 8 release said those facilities can require excess electricity and water and can be noisy, that data centers are not specifically defined in existing city codes, and that there were no proposals pending. WVLT later reported the emergency ordinance passed unanimously. The city freeze runs until July 7, 2027, or until zoning code amendments take effect.

After the city vote, Kincannon told WVLT the pause buys time for guardrails on scale and size — "and whether we want these at all." City freeze is live. County freeze is recommended. If you are buying in Farragut, Halls, Karns, Powell, or unincorporated county land, watch County Commission for the county rule.

What are neighboring counties already doing?

Knox County is not first. WVLT's Aug. 13 story listed the East Tennessee scoreboard: Cocke County, a one-year lithium-battery-storage pause June 1; Loudon County, a six-month pause June 30; Anderson County, a two-year pause June 15 (Commissioner Sabra Beauchamp); Morgan County, a two-year pause June 12 over power, water, and grid strain; and Blount County, June 18 regulations — industrial zone only, a 5,000-foot buffer from homes, schools, and churches, a 60-decibel cap, and utility certificates.

What are Knox County homes doing right now?

A data center freeze does not reprice a three-bedroom in Halls by itself. East Tennessee REALTORS MLS data for July 2026 showed active inventory above 10,700 homes — about 6 percent higher than last July and the highest July reading since 2016. The median sale price was $385,000, up about 3 percent. Closings ran about 9 percent ahead of last July and 8 percent ahead year to date. The 30-year fixed sat at 6.67% in the Aug. 13 Freddie Mac survey, down from 6.69%.

What this means if you own or buy here

• Rural and industrial landowners: a recommended freeze is not a signed lease, and it is not a dead deal either. If someone is shopping your acreage because it sits on power or fiber, write the contract to today's zoning and to the possibility that County Commission adopts R26-6-904. Do not price a 10 MW campus that cannot file a plan.
• Neighbors: if you live next to industrial or Agricultural land with transmission, ask planning staff whether any data-center use is already operating. The recommended freeze would except facilities already running when it is adopted.
• Buyers: city lots are under the July 7 city moratorium. Unincorporated lots are not, until County Commission votes. Get the jurisdiction in writing — City of Knoxville, Town of Farragut, or Knox County — before you assume either freeze applies.
• Sellers: this is a talking point for land with industrial optionality. It is not a pricing model for a house in Powell. Buyers are still shopping condition, price, and days on market.
• Move-up sellers: you cannot make an offer you can honor until your current home is settled. A guaranteed-sale plan removes that contingency first,* so you can shop the next house — or the next rural tract — with a real budget.

Call the Kings of Real Estate team at 865-365-2280. Knoxville is at 121 Suburban Road, Suite 101. If you want a straight read on whether your parcel sits in the city freeze or the county recommendation, call before you write the next offer.

What's happening in Knoxville this week

• One Knoxville SC vs Portland Hearts of Pine — Aug. 19, 7:00 p.m. · Covenant Health Park, 500 E. Jackson Ave.
• Concerts on the Square — Variety Thursdays — Aug. 20, 7:00 p.m. · Market Square (free)
• Market Square Farmers Market — Wed. Aug. 19 and Sat. Aug. 22 · Market Square
• Cody Johnson — Aug. 22, 7:30 p.m. · Food City Center

Sources: Knoxville-Knox County Planning case 8-B-26-OB and July 28 staff memo; WVLT Aug. 13, July 8, and July 16; City of Knoxville July 8, 2026; Hoodline Aug. 15 citing WBIR; East Tennessee REALTORS MLS July 2026; Freddie Mac PMMS Aug. 13 2026.

Sources

• 8-B-26-OB | Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission
• Staff memorandum, Michelle Portier, July 28, 2026 (case 8-B-26-OB)
• Knox Co. Zoning Commission approves recommendation of one-year moratorium on data centers
• Knoxville joins list of areas pressing pause on data centers
• 'We want to protect our clean air, clean water' Knoxville Mayor says after emergency data center pause passes
• City Council Approves North Waterfront Plan, Data Center Moratorium
• Knox County Planning Commission Locks In Data Center Building Freeze
• East Tennessee REALTORS MLS July 2026 data, as cited on news.kingsofrealestate.com
• Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Aug. 13, 2026

*Tracy and seller must agree upon price and possession date. Kings of Real Estate, LLC DBA "Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty"