On Tuesday, the city council voted 6-3 to pass the data center ordinance after a nearly five-hour meeting that included hours of public comment from residents and advocates who waited outside and in holding rooms to speak.
The new regulations outline 20 conditions surrounding size, power usage, water and other issues for hyperscale data centers, which attract the most controversy because of their scale and the resources they require. The ordinance also specifies three other types of data centers and their new regulations, mostly based on size and electrical usage.
Six council members voted in favor of the ordinance: Brian Gunn, Crystal Smitherman, Josh Vasa, Hunter Williams, Clinton Woods and LaTonya Tate.
Three voted against it: Council President Wardine Alexander and members Darrell O’Quinn and Sonja Smith.
Council Member Crystal Smitherman said Tuesday evening that she understands frustrations over the outcome but that the ordinance can still be amended.
“There wasn’t any way to make anyone happy but not passing an ordinance in place would’ve been harmful. No one has a reason to lie. I’m not even a liar in my personal capacity,” Smitherman said in a Facebook post. “Lastly, no one was paid for this. C’mon now. If you can provide it with receipts it’ll be news to me.”
These regulations, added to the city’s zoning policy, now apply to any future data center projects – either new or expanding development.
Right now, developers can’t submit applications to build or expand data centers within city limits, but the new regulations will take effect when the city’s six-month moratorium lifts.
Council member Vasa said that there was more risk if the council waited longer to pass data center regulations in an op-ed published by AL.com on Wednesday.
“In my view, having a regulatory framework in place—even one that can be improved—was better than leaving those gaps unaddressed,” he said. “Simply put, some regulation was better than no regulation.”
Many residents pushed for specific noise conditions and more public review to strengthen the data center ordinance during the hearing on Tuesday. The latest draft that zoning staff presented to the council omitted a special exception requirement for hyperscale data centers if they meet the 20 conditions, which removes public hearings from the process.
Vasa said that the council didn’t amend the ordinance that day because it would require another four-week delay to allow for more advertising and a new public hearing.
“My concern was that during that delay, existing permitted data centers could request expansion under the current regulatory framework without the additional oversight and standards contained in the ordinance before us,” he said. “The ordinance is a starting point, not an ending point.”
This vote on Tuesday was unrelated to any specific data center project, such as the multibillion-dollar AI factory currently underway in the Oxmoor Valley neighborhood. That project is exempt from the moratorium and the newly adopted regulations, unless Nebius were to expand its current plans.
City officials have emphasized that they can’t interfere with the current permitting process for the multibillion-dollar AI factory, despite recent pushback from residents that echoed in Tuesday’s meeting. That project is now the subject of a lawsuit against Nebius and the city.
Council President Alexander said in a Facebook post that she learned about the scope of the project when it was already underway.
“Under Birmingham’s current process, businesses do not initially come before the City Council for approval,” she said. “Applications are reviewed through administrative and zoning processes, and in many cases, decisions are made before the Council has an opportunity to weigh in.”
Alexander added that she supported the moratorium so that the city could add safeguards before additional data centers progressed without proper review and feedback from residents.
“My vote yesterday was consistent with the concerns I have expressed from the beginning,” she said. “I support economic development, innovation, and job creation. But I also believe projects of this magnitude require transparency, community engagement, and strong oversight.”
© 2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
