DeKalb delays data-center rules after hours-long public debate; planning staff to rewrite draft

DeKalb County commissioners voted Tuesday to delay action for 60 days on a proposed text amendment that would create the county’s first formal standards for data centers and related development, following a lengthy staff presentation and a parade of residents urging stronger protections.

Planning senior planner Tricia Prevost told the board the county has seen a sharp increase in data-center interest and currently lacks standards. “So we’ve been working on this, data center ordinance this year, and, we’re excited to share with you our, our proposed regulations,” Prevost said during the presentation, which laid out three size classes (minor, major and campus) and new requirements such as closed-loop water cooling, energy-utility compliance letters, noise assessments and special land-use permits for larger facilities.

The proposal prompted broad public response at the zoning meeting. Claudette Leek of Renew DeKalb urged the commission to adopt stricter language and to treat the draft as an “insurance policy” that must protect communities from negative impacts. “The county needs to be in a proactive mode rather than a defensive position if and when data center applications are…