Athens council adopts zoning change to treat data centers as conditional use in heavy‑industrial zone

The Athens City Council on April 27 adopted an amendment to the city zoning ordinance that will list “data center” as its own use and make such facilities a conditional (not by‑right) use restricted to the M2 heavy industrial district.

City planner Aaron Tidwell told council the change is a narrow, preventive step: “We’re proposing to amend the zoning ordinance to clearly identify data centers as a defined use and clearly define that data centers are a conditional use in the heavy industrial district in Athens,” he said, explaining that best‑practice guidance from groups such as the American Planning Association and the National League of Cities recommends specific review for these facilities.

Tidwell said data centers are operationally distinct from warehouses and other industrial uses because of electricity and water demand, continuous noise and lighting, enhanced security needs and very low employment density. He told council the city’s current use table does not explicitly address data centers and that, without a distinct category, requests would be handled on an ad hoc basis.

Council members asked about available land. Tidwell said the city has roughly 74 noncontiguous acres zoned M2 on Wilkinson Street and that the largest undeveloped parcel there is about…