Commissioners answer data center questions; residents press for transparency and review

Dozens of residents at the Sept. 5 Columbia County Board of Commissioners meeting voiced concerns about water usage, stormwater, power supply and the process surrounding a proposed large data center in the Appling area. Commissioners responded with a series of on-the-record answers and said staff will draft a new, standalone zoning category for data centers.

Commission leadership addressed technical questions raised by residents. The commission said Columbia County’s existing water system “does not have that capacity” to meet an estimated peak demand figure mentioned in public comment, and that developers would be responsible for infrastructure upgrades. The transcript records a county official saying an estimated cost for building the needed water system would be roughly $80,000,000 and that the developer—not the county—would pay those costs. The county also said no ground production wells would be permitted by the county and that any well permits would not be supported locally.

On stormwater, the commission said detailed site plans for the data center have not been finalized, but that development will follow the Georgia Stormwater Management Manual and low-impact development principles. “Most notably, the amount of stormwater leaving the sites will not be greater than its predevelopment,” the official said on the record to address downstream impacts to creeks including Keoga Creek.

Commissioners also addressed power and backup power: specific backup solutions have not been finalized, the county said, but any generators or battery systems must comply with local, state and federal regulations. On lighting, officials said preferred controls include full-cutoff fixtures and 3,000K LEDs to reduce blue-light emissions and light spill.

Taxation and fiscal impacts were discussed in detail. The county said data centers may access Georgia sales-and-use tax exemptions for qualifying high-tech equipment under state law but that the board will not provide additional local sales-tax relief beyond state allowances. Property tax and tangible personal property tax would apply at the local level “unless preempted by Georgia law,” county staff said. Commissioners also discussed a projected revenue scenario on the record: county staff described the county general fund as about $100 million annually, with roughly $20 million coming from homestead property tax; the same remarks projected potential property-tax revenues from the data-center project in the hundreds of millions of dollars and outlined how those revenues could affect the county’s homestead exemption strategy.

Several residents urged the commission to reverse a rezoning decision and to reopen the public comment period. Alan Wyatt and other speakers said the public had insufficient time to respond after the rezoning was approved and raised concerns about nondisclosure agreements tied to land sales. In response the commission said it would not reverse the rezoning decision but has directed staff to draft a standalone data-center zoning classification to specify permissible uses and best practices learned from other communities.

Why this matters: Large data centers raise multi-departmental issues—water, stormwater, power, traffic, security and taxation—and can require substantial county infrastructure investment or developer-funded upgrades. Residents sought more time and transparency; the commission said it will refine zoning rules for future applications but will not reverse the existing rezoning.

What’s next: Staff will begin drafting a distinct zoning classification for data centers; developers proposing infrastructure changes would be expected to fund necessary upgrades and comply with state and local permitting standards.