Jones County commissioners approve conditional‑use rules to allow data centers in industrial park after heated public hearing

The Jones County Board of Commissioners voted Jan. 16 to adopt a zoning text amendment that establishes a conditional‑use pathway for data centers in the county’s M‑2 industrial district, after several hours of testimony from developers, technical experts and hundreds of residents.

Ken Gerard, the attorney the county retained to draft the ordinance, told the board the change does not make data centers an as‑of‑right use but creates a use‑permit track through which applicants must supply a baseline environmental impact study and meet board‑set benchmarks before a building permit is issued. "An application for a use permit for a data center shall be accompanied by a baseline environmental impact study," Gerard said, describing the two‑step review that lets the board require more specific mitigation at the permit stage.

Why it matters: Griswoldville Industrial Park is a roughly 1,000‑acre site the county has marketed for decades; proponents said the ordinance will improve marketability and could generate substantial tax revenue. Opponents and environmental advocates warned that the draft lacks adequate protections for groundwater, low‑frequency noise and cultural resources and urged a moratorium and independent reviews before the board acted.

What was proposed and…