Coweta County forwards updated comprehensive plan as residents decry data-center growth

The Coweta County Board of Commissioners voted May 5 to transmit the county's revised 2026—— 2046 comprehensive land-use plan to the 3 Rivers Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for review, after a staff presentation and extensive public comment.

Teresa Crow, assistant community development director, told the board the update is a policy document designed to guide rezoning and project alignment and is not itself an ordinance. Crow said the plan streamlines an "overly long" document, summarizes extensive public outreach and includes a voluntary Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) concept that would require a separate ordinance, consultant work and future budget approval if the board chooses to pursue it.

The action came as several dozen residents, many speaking during the meeting's public-comment periods, urged the commission to tighten protections for rural areas and to reconsider recent approvals of data-center projects. "The proposed comp plan is weak and it strips some of the protections for our citizens living in the rural areas," said Connie Litton, a District 2 resident who urged the board to either revise the draft or keep the existing plan.

Multiple speakers cited specific projects that they said are transforming farmland and leading to higher utility costs, transmission easements and property-value losses. "Every time you say yes to a data center, you're saying no to a local farmer," said Brianna Rice, who described receiving notices from Georgia Power seeking easements across her property. Tim Ryan, another District 3 resident, warned of property condemnations and said residents are shouldering higher electricity costs while data centers receive preferential utility rates.

Chairman Bill McKenzie, who led the meeting, and staff repeatedly emphasized the procedural limits of the comprehensive plan. Crow told commissioners the plan can be amended after submission and that many items in the document would require future ordinance changes or budget votes. "TDRs are voluntary," Crow said, describing the program as a market-based tool to allow landowners in sending (rural) areas to sell development rights to developers seeking density in receiving areas, with further rules to be created later.

After the presentation and brief board questions, McKenzie moved to transmit the plan to state and regional reviewers; the motion carried. Staff said the transmission is a required step to retain eligibility for certain grants and road funding.

The board's vote does not itself enact zoning changes; any rezoning, TDR program, or ordinance implementing elements of the plan would require separate public hearings, budget approvals, and specific motions by the commission. Several residents said they will continue to press the board for policy changes before implementation.

What happens next: the plan will go to 3 Rivers Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for formal review; staff said the board may amend the plan later and any ordinance or rezoning tied to plan elements will return for separate public hearings and votes.