Bradley County TN Project MidSpan data center zoning lawsuit
Bradley County, TN — Developer of 'Project MidSpan' Sues to Stop Enforcement of County Data Center Zoning Rules Requiring 3,000 Feet From Schools (October 2026)
Bradley County, TN · Bradley County, TN — Developer of 'Project MidSpan' Sues to Stop Enforcement of County Data Center Zoning Rules Requiring 3,000 Feet From Schools (October 2026)
- Status
- Blocked / in litigation
- Applies to
- Bradley County, TN; Project MidSpan developer
- Enforced by
- Bradley County, TN
A New York-based development group that bought about 306 acres near Walker Valley High School has sued Bradley County, Tennessee, asking a judge to stop the county from enforcing new data center zoning rules. The rules require data centers to be 3,000 feet from schools; the proposed Project MidSpan building would be 1,700 feet away. The county mayor told commissioners the county will fight the suit and pay legal costs from the general fund because insurance will not cover them.
Who is protected: Bradley County, TN residents
Legal detail
Suit by the owner of the ~306-acre Project MidSpan site (bought for ~$20M in April 2025) challenging Bradley County's recently approved data center zoning actions (3,000-ft school setback); seeks to enjoin enforcement. County Mayor Gary Davis told the County Commission on Monday Oct. 5, 2026 that insurance won't cover fees and the county will hire outside counsel from the general fund. NOT ESTABLISHED: court, case number, filing date, date of the zoning amendments (the underlying Bradley County data center zoning rules are not themselves in the dataset).
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Bradley County, TN |
|---|---|
| Level | County |
| Citation | Bradley County, TN — Developer of 'Project MidSpan' Sues to Stop Enforcement of County Data Center Zoning Rules Requiring 3,000 Feet From Schools (October 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy |
| News report | Bradley County faces self-funded legal costs in data center zoning lawsuit — WTVC NewsChannel 9 (Oct. 6, 2026) |
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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