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Commission blocks adding single parcel to Technology Park (data‑center) overlay after neighbor objections
Summary
The planning commission voted to deny adding a single parcel to the county’s Technology Park Overlay (data-center overlay) after residents raised concerns about watershed, road access and late notice; staff said the property owner requested the addition.
The Paulding County Planning Commission voted to deny adding one parcel to the Technology Park Overlay District, an overlay that was adopted earlier to set standards for large technology facilities including data centers.
Staff described Ordinance 25‑07 as a text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance that would expand the overlay to include the parcel and impose a 200‑foot buffer on that property (instead of the standard 100‑foot buffer). Staff also said the State Department of Community Affairs was about to reinstate data centers into the development‑of‑regional‑impact review for very large facilities, and that the parcel is sizable enough to trigger that review if a qualifying facility were proposed.
Several nearby residents, including Todd Calmeil, said they learned of the proposal only the night before and opposed adding the parcel because of road access limits, watershed and long‑term impacts. Calmeil said, “We are really not interested at all in having a data center back behind us in our community.”
Staff told the commission the owner requested that this parcel be considered for the overlay; commissioners voted to deny adding the parcel to the overlay by a recorded voice vote reported in the meeting as 4 yes, 2 no, 1 abstain. The denial will be forwarded to the Board of Commissioners for their consideration on December 9 at 2 p.m.
The commission did not remove the rest of the previously approved parcels from the overlay; it denied only the single parcel presented at this meeting.
