DeKalb Commission pauses new data centers in unincorporated county while planning writes rules

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved a substitute motion July 8 to pause permitting of new data centers or expansions of existing data centers in the unincorporated parts of the county while the planning department develops formal zoning rules.

Commissioner Ted Terry introduced the item, saying that the county currently lacks a specific zoning definition and standards for data centers and that an open pause would give staff time to craft a text amendment. Planning staff reported there is one submitted application in the Bouldercrest overlay and two parcels with zoning-certification letters indicating a data-center use could be permitted; staff recommended a pause to avoid ad hoc administrative approvals while countywide standards are written.

Planning staff outlined a tentative schedule: drafting a text amendment over the summer, community council review beginning in August, Planning Commission in September, and return to the Board afterward. Commissioners asked whether the word “moratorium” should be used or whether a different term (pause, temporary hold) would be preferable; county planning and legal staff advised the board that the terminology is flexible but that the practical effect depends on the date a formal application is submitted.

After discussion and several commissioners asking that the issue move quickly to a public-draft process, the Board approved the substitute pause by recorded vote. Commissioners discussed balancing the need for technical rulemaking with fairness to applicants who had received prior zoning-certification letters; staff said those letters reflected a snapshot in time and that zoning rules in effect on an application date control.