PUBLIC NOTICE: Blount County Planning Commission to Consider Major Zoning Changes for AI Data Centers and Crypto Mining
MARYVILLE, TN — Blount County citizens are urged to attend an upcoming Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at 5:30 PM in Room 430 of the Blount County Courthouse. Commissioners will be discussing and potentially making a recommendation on a crucial zoning resolution aimed at regulating artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, cryptocurrency mining facilities, and advanced computing operations.
Planning Department Memo Highlights Setback Constraints
According to an August 27, 2026 memorandum from Thomas A. Lloyd, Director of Planning and Development Services, county officials and staff have been grappling with how to properly zone high-density computing operations.
The Planning Department letter reveals that staff and the County Attorney’s office identified a major conflict with earlier regulatory drafts: a required 5,000-foot setback leaves zero viable sites within Blount County’s existing Industrial (I) zoning districts. Furthermore, subsequent GIS mapping analysis demonstrated that any required setback greater than 1,500 feet yields no usable land within the county’s current industrial zones. Facing these geographic constraints, the County Attorney’s office recommended reducing the setback buffer to 1,000 feet.
Comparing the Resolutions: The Battle Over Setbacks
A side-by-side analysis of Original Resolution No. 26-06-022 (passed June 18, 2026) and the new Draft Proposed Resolution reveals significant shifts in how Blount County intends to manage these intensive land uses:
1. The Setback Reduction (The Core Issue)
- Original Resolution: Mandated a strict 5,000-foot setback (nearly a mile) from any Suburbanizing, R-1, R-2, or RAC zoning district, as well as any residential dwelling, school, or church.
- Proposed Resolution: Slashes the buffer zone to 1,000 feet from residential zoning boundaries, schools, places of worship, recorded cemeteries, historic burial sites, and Tennessee Century Farms. It also introduces a variance mechanism allowing the Board of Zoning Appeals to consider shrinking the setback even further if certified engineering studies are provided.
2. Acoustic and Environmental Standards
- Original Resolution: Established a straightforward sound emission cap of 60 decibels measured at property lines.
- Proposed Resolution: Replaces the simple decibel cap with complex technical restrictions, capping continuous operational noise at 50 dBA and 50 dBC (one-hour time-weighted average) and peak noise at 65 dBC. It mandates full-spectrum frequency analysis down to 1 Hz to monitor low-frequency and infrasonic sound.
- Additional Controls: The draft resolution adds rules restricting waste heat (max 2°F ambient rise), limiting electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation to 2 milligauss at property lines, requiring mandatory enrollment in TVA’s PowerFlex load curtailment program, enforcing a 50% water reduction during declared droughts, and regulating backup power emissions and testing schedules.
Conclusion: Shrinking Safety Buffers Is the Wrong Approach
The GIS findings presented by the Planning Department make one thing clear: Blount County’s existing industrially zoned parcels are simply too small to accommodate AI data centers under protective separation distances. However, if current industrial land cannot support these massive developments while maintaining safe distances from residents, that should be the final conclusion—not a justification to change the rules.
Slashing setback buffers from 5,000 feet down to 1,000 feet to accommodate data centers is a profound mistake. AI computing facilities and cryptocurrency farms produce continuous, high-decibel, low-frequency sound profiles and immense cooling infrastructure noise that severely impact quality of life. Rather than compromising residential tranquility and public health by shrinking safety zones, county leaders must recognize that if these facilities do not fit on existing industrial land, Blount County is simply not the right location for them.
Concerned residents are encouraged to attend the meeting on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at 5:30 PM at the Blount County Courthouse (Room 430) to make their voices heard.
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