Memphis City Council Regular Meeting – October 6, 2026

The Memphis City Council met in regular session on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. After an invocation, roll call, and approval of prior minutes, the council presented honorary resolutions, then held extended debate on Ordinance 5982, a temporary moratorium on data-center permits. A motion to hold the moratorium and related items for further work passed 7-5, and the meeting recessed. No written agenda or minutes were supplied with the source transcript.

Opening & Administrative Items

• Pastor Percy Hunter of Christ United Baptist Church, invited by Councilwoman Cooper Sutton, delivered the invocation and received the chaplain-of-the-day certificate for October 6, 2026.
• A quorum was confirmed by roll call. Vice Chair Carlisle reviewed the September 15, 2026 minutes, moved their adoption, and the council approved them unanimously.

Presentations & Recognitions

• Hispanic Heritage Month: Councilmembers Easter Thomas and Cooper Sutton presented a resolution recognizing September 15 through October 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month. Representatives from Vicendarios 901 and the University of Memphis Hispanic Student Association attended. Maria Oseja said the Hispanic community is the fastest-growing demographic in Memphis and thanked the council for honoring the community; she also thanked the council for a separate resolution against ICE, saying ICE had caused damage in the community over the past year.
• Stage Road Honorary Street: Councilwoman Logan presented a resolution designating Stage Road between Coleman Road and Fargo Road as Bishop Gregory M. Askew Senior Street. Bishop Askew and family members spoke; the resolution was approved by acclamation.
• Dr. Murray Heinberg Memorial: Councilman Warren presented a resolution honoring Dr. Murray Heinberg, a World War II veteran and former POW, professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and founder of Tennessee’s first lipid clinic, who died in November 2025 shortly before turning 101. His family thanked the council; the resolution was approved by acclamation.

Discussion Items

• Ordinance 5982, third/final reading: a temporary moratorium on accepting, processing, approving, and issuing zoning, land use, building, and other associated infrastructure permits for data center developments. It was sponsored by Councilmembers Smiley, Green, Swearing Washington, and Easter Thomas, and had been held from September 15.
• Councilman Smiley urged a final vote, saying communities had been waiting and that data center operators had shown disrespect and a lack of transparency; he said a Thursday working session could still refine the ordinance without delaying the vote.
• Councilwoman Green supported the moratorium, noting other Tennessee localities had adopted 12- or 18-month moratoriums and saying the community was overlooked by Elon Musk and xAI when they came to Memphis.
• Councilman Warren opposed the moratorium, warning of an “AI desert” and lost tax revenue to surrounding counties, and argued the council should pass permanent regulations instead.
• Councilwoman Easter Thomas offered three friendly amendments to Ordinance 5982: requiring inclusion of environmental and community organizations in the Section 4 study process; correcting the recommendation timeline to 90 days and adding monthly updates; and extending the moratorium duration from 12 months to 18 months. The amendments were accepted after discussion.
• Councilman Walker flagged concern that 18 months could slow progress, but accepted that the ordinance requires recommendations in 90 days. He also said data centers grew from 1 percent of TVA’s industrial load in 2019 to 19 percent in 2025, and that $10.3 million in community-benefits appropriations from xAI tax revenue—$3.2 million from the first year and $7 million from the second year—remained unvoted and should be addressed.
• Councilman Carlisle moved to hold Items 19, 20, 21, and 31 for a working session and to return them on October 20. Councilman Spinoza said the planning and zoning working session would meet Thursday at 1 p.m.
• Councilwoman White said she was not against the moratorium but wanted a meaningful, funded product with an administrator and allocated resources, and cautioned against relying on a pause alone.
• Councilwoman Logan said the council’s purview is land use, zoning, and siting—not environmental or electrical issues—and argued the moratorium alone would not protect communities unless the zoning code and UDC upgrade were completed.
• Councilman Smiley responded that the moratorium could be amended after the working session, and that voting it down was preferable to holding it if the body no longer supported it.
• Councilwoman Cooper Sutton said she supported the pause but would vote for the hold until the xAI contract and related NDAs were produced, citing safety concerns and noting she lives in 38109, seven miles from Colossus 2.
• Councilwoman White clarified that she had not signed an NDA or taken contract-related money and urged care in public statements.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No formal comment cards were read during the meeting. Audience members repeatedly shouted support for the moratorium, and the chair and several councilmembers warned that continued disruptions could lead to the room being cleared. The meeting was recessed shortly after the hold vote.

Key Outcomes

• The September 15, 2026 meeting minutes were approved unanimously.
• Hispanic Heritage Month, Bishop Gregory M. Askew Senior Street, and the Dr. Murray Heinberg memorial resolutions were approved by acclamation.
• The sponsor accepted the three friendly amendments to Ordinance 5982 described above, but no final vote was taken on the ordinance.
• A motion to hold Items 19, 20, 21, and 31 passed 7-5. Yes: Canale, Carlisle, Logan, Spinoza, Warren, White, and Cooper Sutton. No: Easter Thomas, Green, Smiley, Walker, and Chairwoman Swearing Washington. The transcribed roll call does not list Councilmember Ford’s vote.
• The held items are scheduled to return on October 20, 2026; a planning and zoning working session is set for Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 1 p.m. The regular meeting recessed immediately after the vote.