Coweta commissioners continue public hearing on proposed data-center ordinance after hours of technical presentations and public comment

Coweta County commissioners on July 15 heard a multi-hour presentation on proposed amendments to Articles 18 and 19 of the county Zoning and Development Ordinance that would define and regulate "data centers" and then voted to continue the public hearing to the board's Aug. 19 meeting.

The amendments presented by community development staff would add a definition of data centers and impose enhanced standards not typical for industrial uses, including architectural-material requirements, larger buffers (200 feet with the outer 100 feet undisturbed), 8-foot minimum security fences with restrictions on anti-climb features, limits on nighttime and daytime noise, restrictions on generator testing days/hours, full-cutoff lighting, parking ratios tied to gross floor area, utility-capacity verification from providers, and special environmental reviews for projects in LM (Light Industrial) districts.

Staff said the draft treats data centers as higher-design industrial uses and proposes that data centers be permitted by right in designated M (Industrial) districts within employment-center or interstate-gateway character areas, while allowing data centers in LM districts only as conditional uses subject to a community-review process.

Jesse Anard, an acoustic consultant with the firm Arpeggio, told the board the team recommended measuring and limiting data-center noise relative to pre-existing ambient conditions established by a preconstruction noise survey, rather than relying only on the draft ordinance's absolute numeric limits. "Our recommendation was to require a noise survey be carried out prior to ... to establish what the sound levels are, at the potential affected adjacencies and then to base the proposed data center sound level limits on those pre-existing conditions," Anard said.

Industry representatives urged flexibility in areas such as generator-testing hours, parking ratios and proof of utility capacity; Steven Jones asked the board to review industry-submitted consolidated comments. Conversely, dozens of residents and organized groups urged the board to slow the process and add stronger protections — including groundwater and surface-water monitoring, erosion-control enforcement and third-party inspections, environmental bonding, limits on construction duration and blasting, clearer penalties and enforcement mechanisms, lighting-height limits and privacy protections for residential neighbors.

"This proposed ordinance is woefully inadequate in specifying the purpose of ordinance definitions requirements for data center construction, operation, decommissioning, and protecting the county and its citizens," said Laura Beth of Citizens for Rural Coweta during public comment.

After hearing the technical presentation and public input, the board voted to continue the public hearing to the commission's second meeting in August. Staff will review the comments already submitted, incorporate consultant recommendations where appropriate, and return revised ordinance language for further discussion.