Coweta commissioners approve rezoning for 9‑building data center campus after heated public debate, 3–2

Coweta County commissioners on April 7 approved rezoning petition REZ24‑19, clearing the way for a proposed 9‑building data center campus known in public filings as Project Sale. The motion to approve passed 3–2 after more than an hour of testimony from supporters and opponents and extended discussion among commissioners.

Nicole Blackwell, the county’s zoning coordinator, told the board the applicant seeks to rezone about 829.41 acres near Welcome To Sergeant Road and Wagers Mill Road from Rural Conservation and M Industrial to M Industrial to allow a data center campus of up to nine buildings totaling roughly 4,340,000 square feet. Blackwell said the site includes a groundwater recharge district, a railroad corridor, Wahoo Creek and a cemetery on or adjacent to the property and summarized staff conditions the board could impose, including traffic improvements, stormwater controls, a 300‑foot buffer and a requirement that transportation improvements be completed before certificates of occupancy are issued.

JC Witt, speaking for Prologis and the petitioner Atlas, described the project as a long‑term, highly regulated infrastructure use that will generate construction and permanent jobs and new tax revenue for schools, libraries, roads and emergency services. Witt said the design uses closed‑loop chilled‑water cooling, that the applicant has letters of intent from the Coweta County Water and Sewerage Authority and Georgia Power, and that only about 20% of the site would be developed while the remainder remains green space. Witt also rejected staff’s recommended mandatory decommissioning language as drafted but said the applicant was open to working with staff on acceptable wording.

Supporters who spoke at the public hearing said the project would deliver significant tax revenue and local jobs and that modern data centers are not sources of air or water pollution. Chad Caldwell, a District 2 resident, said the county needs the revenue to support roads and schools. Business and construction representatives noted the large construction‑phase demand for local contractors.

Speakers opposed to the rezoning expressed concerns about traffic, environmental impacts, effects on property values and proximity to schools and daycares. Citizens for Rural Coweta and several residents argued the rezoning constituted "spot zoning," cited a deed restriction they said prohibits manufacturing on a portion of the property, and urged the board to require independent economic and environmental analysis. Opponents also pressed that dozens of diesel backup generators required for such campuses would generate monthly emissions during testing and that a decade‑long buildout would increase heavy construction traffic on rural roads.

Commissioner debate focused on whether the application met the county’s comprehensive plan and the 12 standards of review, and on whether the board should require a decommissioning and site restoration plan or pursue an alternative funding/earmark approach. One commissioner argued that a mandatory decommissioning bond could create unreasonable burdens in the event of catastrophic loss or tenant turnover; others said protections were appropriate in special rezoning cases for rural areas.

After initial attempts to deny the petition failed, a motion to approve the rezoning "with the conditions as submitted," explicitly including a decommissioning component to be finalized with staff, carried by a 3–2 vote. The board did not record roll‑call attribution of each individual vote on the public audio recorded in the transcript; the clerk announced the outcome as "motion carries 3 to 2." The approval includes the staff‑recommended transportation and stormwater conditions and other site‑specific requirements displayed in the staff report.

Next steps for the project include finalization of condition language, the applicant obtaining any required state approvals and permits, and required transportation and utility work before building permits and certificates of occupancy. The applicant and staff indicated willingness to work together on decommissioning language and potential earmarking of future revenues to address restoration risks.