The Jones County Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 20 voted to recommend that the Board of Commissioners begin a text amendment process to remove data centers from the C‑1 Neighborhood Commercial zoning district and to confine them to M‑1 and M‑2 (industrial) districts. The motion, made by Commissioner Steve, passed on a 4‑vote affirmative tally and will be transmitted to the commissioners for formal consideration.

The action followed public comment raising procedural and legal objections to a prior zoning text amendment. Alexander Luffholtz, a resident of 177 Stuart Farm Road in Gray, urged the commission to re‑notice the earlier amendment and called it “procedurally and constitutionally defective,” citing OCGA 36‑66‑4 and warning that relying on an improperly noticed amendment could expose the county to litigation. Luffholtz told the commission the prior amendment "has no legal effect" and recommended a moratorium of at least 12 months on data‑center applications.

Dr. Rebecca Husted of 1787 Georgia Highway 18 East also urged a moratorium on data centers in the county. Other members of the public made related comments about directing major industrial uses toward existing industrial zones and about updating the zoning code to encourage denser, small‑scale community commercial centers instead of large developments.

On the question before the commission, Commissioner Steve moved to remove data centers from the C‑1 district and to encourage the commissioners to direct such applications to M‑1 or M‑2 industrial areas; the motion carried with four recorded ayes. The commission instructed staff to transmit the recommendation to the Board of Commissioners; any actual zoning changes would require the formal text‑amendment process and final action by the board.