Coweta commissioners set July 15 public hearing on data-center zoning after extensive public comment

The Coweta County Board of Commissioners voted to set a public hearing for July 15, 2025, to consider proposed amendments to the county zoning and development ordinance that would change conditional and permitted uses for light industrial and industrial districts to address data centers.

Several members of the public used the meeting’s public-comment period to ask for more opportunities to engage. Laura Beth asked that the public hearing include more speaking time and be scheduled at times that allow evening workers to attend. Neil Wolf, a resident who reviewed published materials about a proposed large data center project often referred to in the meeting as 'Project Sale,' urged the board to hold a more interactive roundtable in addition to the required one‑way public hearing and questioned earlier revenue forecasts. Wolf noted a progression of revenue estimates—from an apparent typo of $1.6 billion per year down to $160 million and then to $10 million per year—and raised concern that power-transmission constraints and required upgrades could limit site options.

Other speakers, including Robert Litton and Connie Litton, urged the board to prefer industrially zoned local sites and to study cooling-system and noise mitigation measures after a recent site visit to two data centers. Several requested that commissioners visit the Project Sale site for direct comparison.

County staff and commissioners repeatedly clarified that setting the date did not itself constitute the public hearing on the ordinance; the July 15 meeting will be the formal hearing where the public record is taken. The board’s action was to set the hearing date; the record shows no final decision on ordinance text at this meeting.