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 and the IDA. He told the commission consultants from Georgia Power had helped identify candidate sites and that an early review showed at least five parcels could be potential fits. Later discussion narrowed the short list to three parcels under consideration; staff said the parcels together represent a tiny share of the county’s land area.

Officials warned the infrastructure demands could be substantial. Staff told commissioners that bringing needed electric service to a prepared site could take “three plus years” in the most advantageous locations, and that some parcels under discussion sit south and southeast of town, include large acreages (one parcel cited at about 71 acres, another at about 1,400 acres) and in some cases include major gas lines that could enable onsite generation. Commissioners asked whether fiber/data connectivity and water supplies had been considered; staff said those elements were part of the consultants’ review and that owners and developers are already studying on‑site water treatment and reuse to reduce trucked supply and wastewater costs.

Slade, an authority representative who participated in the presentation, and staff emphasized the IDA is not proposing to buy the privately owned parcels for this program (the IDA already owns one industrial park parcel). Staff said owners of the shortlisted parcels have expressed interest in exploring the overlay and that any project would be subject to parcel‑specific public hearings and approvals: first a vote on the overlay text and then individual votes for each parcel to be included.

Doug told the commission the draft ordinance provided to the board was modeled on an example from Culpeper County, Va., and that the template included relatively stringent setbacks and standards; he said the example was only a starting point and that final standards would be customized for Upson County. He described the overlay as “another tool in the toolbox” for attracting projects that match the county’s infrastructure and land‑use objectives.

Commissioners asked staff to supply additional details about candidate parcels, infrastructure timelines and the draft ordinance format. Staff said they would answer follow‑up questions and would return for public hearings if the commission votes to move forward; a staff member indicated a draft ordinance could be ready for the commission’s next packet.

If the commission chooses to advertise public hearings on the overlay, the ordinance would change how certain parcels in AR (Agricultural/Residential) and M2 (industrial) zoning are treated by creating an overlay that allows specific technology uses on identified parcels while leaving underlying zoning otherwise intact.

Next steps noted by staff: provide more detailed parcel maps and infrastructure assessments, coordinate required public notices, and return for the public‑hearing process if the commission formally recommends proceeding to the Board of Commissioners.