Memphis City Council Meeting – October 8, 2026

The Memphis City Council met on October 8, 2026, to act on MLGW fiscal consent items, planning and development cases, add-on and same-night agenda items, and to receive public comment. The raw transcript opens with a reference to October sixth, which is a discrepancy from the supplied meeting date. Unless otherwise noted, roll-call votes recorded all present members voting yes.

Consent Calendar

• The MLGW fiscal consent agenda, items 9 through 16, was approved unanimously. Approved funding included: $1,488,978 to TDOT for Lamar Phase 2 electric facility relocations; $250,000 increase and renewal with Allen & Hoshell; $228,000 increase and renewal with Integrity Solutions for external corrosion direct assessment; $261,531 increase and extension with First Tech for MLGW payment centers; $1,686,234 purchase order to All Tech for Class 5 and Class 8 bucket trucks; $94,479.97 for Radian Research electric meter testing; $616,601.30 water meter parts purchase order to Badger Meter; and $1,087,500 external auditing services contract to Clifton Larson Allen LLP.
• Consent add-on items 32 and 33, the two data center zoning ordinances, passed on first reading. Councilmember Easter Thomas asked to be removed as co-sponsor of item 33.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Richard Massey supported a one-year moratorium on data centers. He said nearly 500 communities across the country, including multiple Tennessee jurisdictions, have paused data center development, and argued Memphis is acting from behind and needs time for community engagement, impact studies, and regulations rather than a rushed 45-day process.
• Paul Klein, vice chair of the Sierra Club Chickasaw Group and co-chair of Climate Reality Project Memphis, supported a one-year moratorium. He cited concerns about rising electric bills, fossil-fuel generation, air pollution, water use, noise, and land use, and said a 90-day pause is not enough.
• Jasmine Houston asked the council to pause and said decisions are being made without truly hearing residents. She said Memphis is putting profit over people and losing quality of life.
• Alexa Pouncey said more than 200 people attended the prior Tuesday meeting and expressed concern that some attendees were not allowed to return, noting that they were Black. She said the situation was being mishandled.
• Jessica Miller, a professional activist, said she attended every meeting since the moratorium was introduced. She said no one who spoke asked the council to reject the moratorium, that comment cards should have been considered before the hold was voted on, and that residents should not be shamed for attending.
• Sophia Mason, a constituent of Councilman Spinoza, supported the resolution to remove ICE and the National Guard from the Memphis Safe Task Force and asked the council to pass it on October 20.
• Brandy Price asked whether the data center ordinances cover heat distribution and monitoring of collected data. She cited examples in Denmark where data center heat is reused for homes and warming centers, said the council needs expert input, and supported a moratorium. Councilman Spinoza said a future meeting would bring in experts and he would answer the question.
• Alexander Perkins cited Apple's Denmark data center, Meta's Utah center, Independence County, Arkansas's five-year moratorium, and 29 Tennessee jurisdictions with moratoria. He said XAI Colossus 1 paid $24.5 million in city and county property taxes, while Colossus 2 gas turbines are expected to cause more than $30 million per year in environmental damages according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.
• Amber Sherman, an organizer, disputed claims that the moratorium is a ban or would stop existing data centers. She described worsening air quality and said she now needs an $800 inhaler because of it. She supported the moratorium.
• Justin Pearson questioned notices about possible bans from council meetings, said the process should not chill First Amendment rights, and described impacts on Westwood, Boxtown, and Whitehaven over 855 days since Elon Musk's announcement. He cited a cancer risk 4.1 times the national average and an F air quality grade, and supported a pause.
• Keyshawn Pearson, executive director of Memphis Community Against Pollution, said two years of community meetings, letters, and Southern Environmental Law Center presentations have not produced action. She demanded a pause and said the October 20 vote will show whose side the council is on.
• Isaac Freeman, former president of Tennessee Young Democrats, supported a moratorium and called for policies to improve air quality.

Discussion Items

• Item 4, a resolution directing the zoning administrator to submit an application to replace the City of Memphis zoning map, passed unanimously.
• Item 5, special use permit SUP 25-37 for a gas station at 1681 East Raines Road, passed with Councilmember Cooper Sutton voting no and Councilmember White abstaining. The applicant said the drive-through was eliminated, alcohol and tobacco would not be sold, and the adjacent property would be improved. The council added a condition that food trucks would not be permitted on the subject property.
• Item 6, special use permit SUP 26-14 for a car wash at 2451 Summer Avenue, passed unanimously with an amendment changing hours of operation from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. A comment card from Sander Snowden, who was not present, was read in support.
• Item 7, planned development PD 26-05 at 2604 Covington Pike, was held without objection until October 20, 2026.
• Item 8, ordinance ZTA 26-02 establishing a procedure for replacing the zoning map, passed on third and final reading. Planning staff said the ordinance only authorizes public notice for the upcoming zoning map update and does not approve the Memphis 3.0 plan. A letter from residents was made part of the record.
• Add-on item 24, calling for removal of ICE and the National Guard from the Memphis Safe Task Force, was held until October 20, 2026.
• Add-on items 25 through 28 and 30 were approved: $150,000 for the Safeways crime-prevention initiative in apartment complexes; $1,453,600 for Memphis Police Department in-service training; Myrtle Winfield appointed to the Board of Ethics; retired Judge Lois Lambert Ryan appointed Board of Ethics Chair; and nominal conveyance of 3628 Summer Avenue to Broad Avenue Community and Economic Development Corporation.
• Add-on item 29 was approved, accepting and appropriating $129,220.45 in federal TDOT grant funding for the Range Line sidewalk enhancement project.
• Item 17, pension ordinance third/final reading; item 18, Memphis Shelby County Building Home Program amendment third/final reading; and item 22, short-term rental public nuisance enforcement ordinance, all passed. Item 22 creates a three-violation standard, a public nuisance enforcement pathway, possible damages of $1,000 to $50,000 for qualifying nearby property owners, and city recovery of enforcement costs. Several council members were added as co-sponsors.
• Item 23, the seven-year initial lease with renewal option for Bluff City Pickleball at 940 Early Maxwell Boulevard, was held until October 20, 2026, after Councilwoman Green raised concerns about roller derby. Memphis Parks Director Justice Bowden said roller derby has a permit at Davis Community Center through 2027.
• Same-night minute items, listed as 2, 16, and 25 through 30, were approved in one motion.

Key Outcomes

• MLGW fiscal consent items 9 through 16 were approved unanimously.
• Item 4 was approved unanimously; item 5 was approved with one no vote and one abstention; items 6 and 8 were approved unanimously; item 7 was held to October 20.
• Data center first-reading ordinances, items 32 and 33, were approved, and Councilmember Easter Thomas was removed as co-sponsor of item 33.
• Add-on resolutions 25 through 30 were approved; item 24 was held to October 20.
• Items 17, 18, and 22 were approved; item 23 was held to October 20.
• Same-night minutes were approved.
• Items held to the October 20, 2026 council meeting include items 7, 23, and 24.