Upson County planners introduce technology overlay district to target limited parcels for data centers

Upson County Planning Commission members heard an introduction to a proposed technology overlay district intended to allow certain high‑value, low‑impact technology businesses — such as data centers — to develop on a small number of identified parcels.

Planning staff and the county’s industrial development representatives said the overlay would be a narrowly targeted economic‑development tool that lets qualifying technology projects locate on specific parcels by right even if those uses are not normally allowed in underlying zoning districts. The proposal was presented as an initial draft; commissioners were told public hearings and parcel‑by‑parcel votes would follow if the commission advises moving forward.

Doug, planning staff, said the overlay is intended to attract “high value” businesses that provide taxable property with low operational and environmental impact and that it would be applied only to parcels agreed to by this commission, the Board of Commissioners…