DeKalb County commissioners voted on Oct. 14 to extend a countywide moratorium on new data centers and expansions of existing data centers in the unincorporated county until Dec. 16, adopting a planning department recommendation to allow more time for drafting regulations and public input.

The county planning staff said the pause would give planners time to prepare guardrails that many other counties have adopted, including noise, water, setback and special permitting standards. Commissioner remarks during the meeting emphasized that the draft regulations would require community input before final adoption and that many jurisdictions recommend a special land-use permit for each proposed site so neighbors have a public hearing.

Public comments at the meeting revealed deep differences: opponents argued data centers consume large amounts of electricity, produce limited local jobs per acre and occupy scarce land; supporters said data centers are necessary infrastructure and can bring significant tax revenues and economic activity.

Speakers who urged an extension included Steven Benny, who said large data-center campuses produce relatively few long-term jobs and that campus-scale projects should be banned from county zoning; resident Peter Perozi warned about potential water- and chemical-use concerns and urged an indefinite pause; and Ethan Williams called data centers a poor fit for many DeKalb neighborhoods and supported a longer moratorium. Speakers in favor of allowing or carefully permitting data centers included an industry attorney and Michelle Battle, an attorney who said data centers can provide benefit if regulated and located appropriately.

Commissioner Descriptions and next steps: Commissioner Terry, who led discussion of the planning process, said the proposed regulations would include public hearings at community council and planning commission stages and that each data center application would likely require a special land-use permit. Planning staff said they planned community town halls and a public hearing on the draft regulations; the commission emphasized the need to review the draft and address water, noise, buffers, reuse of brownfield or industrial sites, and public notice requirements before rescinding the moratorium.

Outcome: The Board approved extending the moratorium to Dec. 16. Staff said the moratorium extension will allow additional review, community hearings and a final draft to go before the planning commission and the Board of Commissioners.