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DeKalb committee defers data-center rules, asks for baseline review and public engagement
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Summary
The DeKalb County PECS committee deferred final action on data-center regulations and an associated $15,000 literature-based baseline study to the May 12 meeting, asking staff and Science for Georgia to supply written answers, invite additional technical experts, and prepare a substitute text amendment for public review before the moratorium expires in June.
Nicole Messia, chair of DeKalb County’s Planning, Economic Development and Community Services (PECS) committee, presided over an extended discussion on proposed data-center regulations and a recommended $15,000 allocation to Science for Georgia for a baseline literature review. The committee voted to defer action to its May 12 meeting to allow staff to incorporate agreed changes and circulate a substitute text amendment.
The resolution under consideration (2026-0241) and related agenda items (2026-0244 and 2026-0245) would, as presented by Commissioner Ted Terry, require a special land-use permit (SLP) for all data-center applications, eliminate the “data center campus” definition to cap developments at 500,000 square feet, and raise the renewable-energy incentive such that developers seeking a height bonus would need to use 100% renewable energy (via virtual procurement or other mechanisms rather than necessarily on-site generation). “The 3 things that I’m asking for in this resolution are that the planning department update their text amendment recommendations to include requiring a special land use permit, … cap every development at 500,000 square feet, and expand incentivizing new data center operations to utilize 100% renewable energy,” Commissioner Ted Terry said.
Deputy Director Bragg told the committee that staff had already required several project-specific impact studies in the text amendment and characterized the $15,000 Science for Georgia contract as an overview of the literature to inform the ordinance rather than a countywide "before-and-after" public-health baseline. “We met with Science for Georgia early on in our research and their recommendations formed a lot of the foundation for the current text amendment, including the studies that we require from each individual application,” Bragg said.
Commissioners discussed public-health concerns (including diesel backup generators and PFAS), the scope of required studies, adaptive-reuse exemptions, decommissioning plans and bonding, potential economic trade-offs from capping campus size, and the timing of public engagement. Commissioner Robert Patrick asked staff to survey GIS parcels to identify properties that might both meet redevelopment criteria and maintain required buffers. Commissioners also proposed inviting Watershed Management and other technical experts to answer water-quality and public-health questions.
The committee agreed to receive written answers from Science for Georgia to outstanding questions and to continue the discussion in May. Staff reminded members that the county’s moratorium on data-center approvals expires in mid-June; the committee set May 12 as the target date for returning a revised substitute for public hearing consideration. Interim County Attorney also urged commissioners to use off-line staff review and email for technical clarifications where appropriate.
Next steps set by the committee include written follow-up from Science for Georgia, possible additional briefings from watershed and public-health staff, further drafting of decommissioning and bond provisions, and public-engagement planning (town-hall or Committee of the Whole sessions) prior to final action.
