Emotions were high at the Memphis City Council's Oct. 6 meeting, which was recessed after just one vote.
Remaining items on the agenda were never discussed after the meeting abruptly ended when audience members began yelling and chanting when the council voted to postpone a proposed data center moratorium and regulations.
Here's what could happen next.
Special meeting could be called
According to longtime City Council Attorney Allan Wade, Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington has the authority to call a special meeting to continue with the rest of the agenda because the meeting was recessed.
He confirmed the council is in talks of scheduling a time to resume.
Wade, who has been with the city for almost 35 years, said he has never seen public disruption to this extent, in which
council could not proceed at a meeting.
Councilwoman Jerri Green said she thinks the city requires 48 hours notice to hold a special meeting, which could be as early as Thursday or Friday of this week.
What happened on Tuesday night?
After a long day of committee meetings, City Council opened its 4 p.m. regular meeting with a packed house. The council moved the data center discussion to the head of the agenda, presumably because of the large presence of attendees awaiting a vote on the moratorium, with mostly supporters in the crowd.
Councilman JB Smiley Jr. led the camp of council members wanting to take a final vote on a moratorium, which they said would simply pause development while the city solidifies guardrails, a decision that could be amended later.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting was recessed, Smiley said he was frustrated that the moratorium wasn't passed, adding that the audience's uproar might have been avoided if the council had voted in support of it.
Other council members expressed caution over rushing a resolution through and scaring off big businesses — and the tax revenue they generate for the city.
"We in Memphis constantly complain that we don't get our fair share," Councilman Jeff Warren said, urging the council to pass regulations governing data centers, rather than approving a blanket moratorium.
During moments of the council's discussion, councilmembers spoke over one another and out of turn. Though councilmembers join a queue to speak during meetings, at times, the usual practice was disregarded.
Events escalated as the council narrowly voted to postpone a package of data center development regulations — all scheduled on the agenda for their third and final vote.
What ensued after the vote?
Hundreds of advocates and community members erupted into chants, several of them standing on seats, leading the crowd. Some directed their frustrations to specific council members, approaching the dais.
A police presence increased dramatically in just a few minutes, and protestors were slowly escorted out of the council chambers. At the same time, council members were ushered out of the room by city staffers.
Several council members engaged with protestors directly, whereas others left the meeting in a hurry.
Less than two hours into the meeting, and after just one regular agenda item vote on record, the council recessed for the evening.
Special meeting stipulations
Tennessee public meeting law requires "adequate public notice" ahead of special meetings, but according to the Tennessee Coalition on Open Government, courts have declined to set a specific time requirement.
However the courts have, according to TCOG, held three specific requirements for special called meetings. Those requirements are that:
- the notice must be posted in a location where community members can reasonably become aware of the meeting;
- the notice must "reasonably describe" the purpose of the meeting;
- the notice must be "posted at a time sufficiently in advance" of the actual meeting so citizens can be both aware and present for the meeting if they choose.
When will the city council vote on the data center moratorium?
In a split vote on Tuesday night, the council voted to hold the proposed moratorium on data center development, as well as a few other related ordinances, pushing them to its next meeting.
While a vote on these ordinances will have to wait until the council's Oct. 20 meeting, discussion of data center regulations in general is expected to continue in the interim. Several council members mentioned a meeting, tentatively set for Thursday, to discuss the ongoing data center issues.
Commercial Appeal Reporter Lucas Finton contributed to this story.
Annie Goldman covers government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at annie.goldman@commercialappeal.com or 901-930-7431, and followed on X @AnnieSGoldman.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: After uproarious Memphis City Council meeting, what happens next?
