The Jackson City Council will hold two data center meetings Monday, July 6, starting with a Planning and Economic Development Committee discussion at 4 p.m. and followed by a public hearing at 6 p.m. on a proposed moratorium that would halt new data center development until the city passes a regulatory framework.

The public hearing agenda, posted June 25, lists a single item: an ordinance establishing a temporary moratorium on the development and expansion of data centers until a regulatory framework is approved by the governing authority. The Planning Committee agenda, posted July 2, lists one item for discussion as well: data centers.

The meetings come two weeks after the council's June 22 public hearing on data center zoning, where more than 20 people spoke and only one speaker voiced support for data centers, according to the Clarion Ledger. The Jackson Fire Department limited capacity to about 65 people in the council chambers that night, turning away roughly two dozen residents who stood in the hallway and listened through the building's speaker system.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Tina Clay questioned why capacity limits were enforced that night and not at previous meetings. You don't arbitrarily pick a meeting to enforce it, she said, according to WLBT.

The moratorium ordinance was first introduced by Council President Brian Grizzell in April. He proposed a 183-day pause to give the city time to study data center impacts on water, sewer, and electrical infrastructure. The council tabled the measure in May on the advice of City Attorney Drew Martin, who said the city needed to advertise and hold a public hearing before voting on a zoning ordinance.

Since then, the debate has accelerated. A company called Saxum Investment Group is seeking to rezone roughly 190 acres near Forest Avenue and Interstate 220 to I-1 light industrial, making the site data center-ready. The proposal later expanded to 230 acres, according to testimony at the June 22 hearing. The Planning Board postponed Saxum's rezoning request in May and again in June, with Zoning Administrator Ester Ainsworth saying it would not be fair to vote without new regulations in place.

Deputy City Attorney Carrie Johnson told the council at a June committee meeting that the city attorney's office was in the early stages of drafting a data center ordinance. She said the draft would address location, noise, utility usage, water, and storm drainage. Council Vice President Vernon Hartley submitted a list of about 20 environmental concerns he wants included, telling the city attorney he was not sure a template off the internet is going to give us everything we need.

The public opposition has been sustained and organized. At the May 27 Planning Board meeting, dozens of residents packed the Warren Hood Building carrying signs reading No Data Centers and Can't Drink Data. At the June 22 hearing, Ashley Acres resident Thomas Cheatham told the council he can stand at his front door and see the top of the data system if the rezoning passes. Southaven resident Shannon Samsa traveled to Jackson to warn the council that every single guardrail and guideline that was meant to protect us has failed in her city, where xAI operates natural gas turbines to power its data center.

The council's decision Monday will test whether the political will matches the public sentiment. A yes vote on the moratorium buys time for the city to write rules from scratch. A no vote or another delay leaves Jackson without any data center regulations on the books, with Saxum's rezoning request still pending and the Planning Board waiting for the council to act first.

The Planning Committee meeting starts at 4 p.m. in council chambers at Jackson City Hall, 219 South President Street. The public hearing follows at 6 p.m.