Residents Urge Columbia County to Slow Data-Center–Driven Land-Use Changes at Planning Commission Hearing

Columbia County planning staff presented the draft comprehensive plan "Foundations for the Future" at a public hearing on Jan. 29 and told attendees the county commission is scheduled to consider adoption Feb. 17. Scott Sterling, a planning staff member who led the presentation, said the draft has been online since Oct. 31 and that the project website had just over 3,800 unique viewers.

The hearing drew more than a dozen residents who criticized a recent expansion of areas labeled "technology and industrial" on the draft land-use map and urged the planning commission to slow or roll back changes they say prioritize large data centers over community character. "This feels like a train that has left the station with no brakes," said Lee Muns, a Harlem-area resident, warning of simultaneous large construction projects, heavy truck traffic and pressure on roads and services.

Why it matters: Residents said the map changes occurred rapidly between summer and October drafts with little visible justification and that the expanded purple technology/industrial areas threaten open space, farmland and established neighborhoods. Speakers documented concerns about power and water demand, noise, stormwater runoff and the long-term financial and ecological costs should large facilities become obsolete.

During the presentation, staff described the plan as a state-required update that guides future development and explained that a recent map change added a newly approved quarry to the draft's character-area map. Sterling told the hearing, "Once the public hearing is closed, there's no action required by the planning commission tonight," and said the County Commission will consider adoption on Feb. 17.

Residents asked for concrete next steps and safeguards. Marlena Bergeron, a member of the Sierra Club executive committee and a 12-year Columbia County resident, urged commissioners to "consider a moratorium on any new data center zoning until the local ordinances and state regulations can be strengthened," citing concerns about end-of-life obligations for large facilities and the absence of meaningful surety bonds to cover remediation.

Several speakers requested greater transparency about how the map changed. Cambry Wood of Martinez said the technology/industry zone "has increased almost threefold" between drafts and asked the county to publish the record of meetings and communications that led to the change and a comment/response log for public review. Lindsey Brantley, a Harlem/Pumpkin Center resident, estimated public engagement for the draft represented "less than 1% of the registered voters in Columbia County" and asked that steering-committee documents and email communications be released.

Staff and commissioners fielded questions about legal status and timing. Attendees asked whether rezonings had been approved while Vision 2035 remained the formal guiding document; staff responded that the older plan has guided prior applications but that the comprehensive plan is a periodic, state-mandated guide and not an absolute prohibition on rezonings.

Other concerns raised at the hearing included the adequacy of buffer distances between technology/industrial areas and greenways, the scheduling of outreach events that limited working residents' participation, and the cumulative impacts of multiple developments on roads and schools. Speakers offered solutions including phased development, stronger zoning conditions, required mitigation plans, an end-of-life/repurposing requirement for large facilities and a temporary moratorium while ordinances are strengthened.

The planning commission did not vote on the draft at the hearing. The commission will forward its record and any recommended edits to the Board of Commissioners, which is scheduled to take up the plan on Feb. 17. Members of the public were told they may still submit comments to the county office or via the project website, futurecolumbiacounty.com.