Residents urge caution on data centers, ask county to study cumulative impacts

Two members of the public addressed commissioners during the meeting’s public comment period urging the board to exercise caution on data center projects that may be proposed in rural parts of Coweta County.

Neil Wolf, who identified himself as a Newnan resident, said the county’s telecommunications code sought to balance technological progress with community protection and argued the county should take a similar, deliberative approach to incoming data center proposals. Wolf recommended the commission engage outside experts to study cumulative and regional impacts, and to facilitate a public dialogue before allowing further decisions on data centers.

Connie Litton, who gave a Newnan address, told the board she opposed locating a named data center project in a rural area near existing homes. She said the project “does not match the rural setting” and raised concerns the facility would be a noise and light nuisance, an eyesore for nearby property owners and a potential driver of falling property values. Litton urged commissioners to direct prospective data centers to sites already zoned for industrial use and warned that rezoning rural land for a large data center would set a precedent she said could invite future rezoning requests and litigation.

Neither speaker requested immediate board action; both urged earlier, broader study of potential impacts and greater public engagement before the county considers rezoning or approvals for large data center projects.