Coffee County amends zoning code to define and limit data centers

Coffee County’s legislative body voted unanimously to amend its zoning resolution to recognize and regulate data centers, the mayor said during the meeting in July 2026. The measure, Resolution 2026-18, passed with 16 affirmative votes.

Mayor Dennis A. Hunt summarized the amendment as accomplishing four tasks: acknowledging data centers as a land use the county will encounter, designating them as special exceptions (allowed only with conditions), adding a comprehensive definition including accessory uses, and explicitly excluding data centers from A1 (agricultural) district permitted uses. "It accomplishes four things for our county zoning," Hunt said, outlining the changes and stressing that the planning commission will set the detailed conditions.

The motion to approve was recorded as made by Commissioner Hirschman and seconded by Commissioner Smith. Hunt said the planning commission is continuing work on the subject; county attorney Mark Williams and professional planner Amanda Reinhardt have provided input on the proposed language. The mayor also emphasized that special exceptions will be tied to explicit conditions before any data-center use may proceed.

The amendment inserts a definition and pathways for conditional approval rather than blanket permissive use of data centers in agricultural zones. Hunt told commissioners the change "absolutely excludes data centers from the A1 district," signaling that the county intends to route any future proposals through the special-exception process.

Next steps noted in the meeting: the planning commission will continue drafting and adopting the specific conditions that would be attached to any special-exception approval. The legislative body took final action to amend the zoning resolution at this meeting; further permitting or conditional-use reviews would follow established planning processes.