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Residents urge Elbert County to block land‑use change, warn water and power shortfalls for proposed data center
Summary
Multiple residents told commissioners a proposed rezoning of an eastern Elbert County ranch and rumored data‑center development would strain water supplies, lack nearby utilities and harm property values; speakers urged the county to preserve Highway 86’s scenic designation and oppose industrial conversion.
Several residents used public comment at the June 24 Elbert County Board of County Commissioners meeting to press the board to oppose a proposed land‑use change and a rumored data‑center project in eastern parts of the county.
Joe Frazier, who identified himself as an eastern Elbert County resident, said investors who purchased a ranch (named in comment as Calvro Plains Ranch and Craft Companies) are seeking to change the property from agricultural/residential to industrial. "They want to change this from an agricultural residential use to industrial," Frazier said, arguing the property lacks deep, high‑yield groundwater and that many wells on the site are low producing or not registered with the State Water Engineer’s office.
Frazier also challenged claims that power and natural‑gas lines and a railroad spur were available for industrial service, and warned that industrial conversion would conflict with the county’s designation of Highway 86 as a scenic byway.
Deborah J. Thomas, who gave her address during remarks, said data centers consume large amounts of water for cooling and asserted they can raise electricity costs and depress nearby property values. "Now they want to put in a data center," Thomas told the board, saying she opposed the idea and plans to organize locally.
Trent Chapel, another resident speaker, repeated infrastructure and health concerns and said organizers plan to bring more residents to future meetings; he urged the board to move at least some meetings to evening hours so working residents can participate.
Carrie, speaking for the Elbert County Environmental Alliance, thanked the board for appealing a PUC decision and asked about next steps; the board said county counsel had been instructed to appeal to District Court but offered no further update in open session. Don Gray reported that 13 landowners connected to the Power Pathway project are scheduled for a case‑management hearing on eminent‑domain claims the coming Friday and asked the county to continue support.
No proponents of the developer or data‑center proposals spoke during the meeting, and the board did not take any land‑use votes during the session. Commissioners cautioned they could not discuss pending litigation in public comments where doing so might jeopardize legal strategy.
Next steps noted in the meeting: the county has instructed in‑house counsel to appeal the PUC decision to District Court, and a Chevelle final plat land‑use hearing was scheduled for 1:00 p.m. the same day; no formal land‑use action on the ranch or a data‑center application occurred during the June 24 meeting.
