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Residents press county on data‑center DRI, land purchase and tax projections
Summary
Public commenters asked the commission for more disclosure about a large data‑center DRI and a private land purchase tied to potential data‑center development, including ownership, financing, timelines and realistic tax receipts.
Multiple speakers at the Aug. 5 Columbia County commission meeting urged greater transparency and raised environmental and fiscal questions about a proposed data‑center development and related land transactions.
Resident Susan Warren summarized publicly available details she had gathered: she said the Columbia County Economic Development Authority had paid $28 million for more than 1,600 acres with a locally financed bank loan and that a 324‑acre option had not been exercised as of the date of her remarks. She reported the project's conceptual material in the county's DRI indicated up to 8.1 million square feet of buildings and suggested widely varying build‑out timelines — from a few years to multiple decades — and that the county school board would receive 65% of any ongoing property‑tax receipts while the county general fund would receive 35%.
Warren also noted a May 20 presentation that showed a large build‑out and a CSRA regional commission DRI report with an $11.6 billion project valuation and a projected $118 million annual tax figure at full build‑out; she cautioned those revenues would accrue over many years and depend on the number and timing of end‑users. Other commenters, including Marlena Bergeron, framed environmental concerns — including water consumption, wetlands and tree loss — and asked the commission to weigh long‑term environmental tradeoffs when considering large data‑center projects.
Commissioners present did not vote on a final development agreement at the Aug. 5 meeting; commissioners had previously rezoned parcels to allow S‑1 uses and discussed a developer intermediary (Trammell Crow) handling site acquisition and later end‑user negotiations. Warren reported she had asked county staff questions about ownership, purchase options and incentives; county development staff told her loan repayment would occur when parcels were sold to end users and that incentive talks had not been ruled out.
Speakers asked for clearer public explanation of the financial model and the timing of projected tax receipts, and urged the commission to consider environmental impacts such as groundwater and water‑use implications, carbon and energy demand, and the loss of tree canopy. The commissioners did not adopt new policy changes at the meeting; public comments were entered into the record for consideration as the county continues planning and negotiating DRI and land‑use details.
