Henry County Board removes data-center rules after extended public hearing

The Henry County Board of Supervisors voted 5–0 on July 28 to remove proposed data-center provisions from a broader zoning-ordinance update and send the matter back to staff and the planning commission for additional review and public hearings.

Planning staff told the board the proposed ordinance would have defined data centers and set minimum standards — including water-supply studies, screening, noise limits and setbacks — “just in case something like that were to ever be proposed in Henry County,” but residents, technical witnesses and county attorneys urged caution. Planning staff member Clark said the drafts added items such as “a water supply impact study, screening, noise and setbacks” as baseline protections. County Attorney George Lyle advised against a moratorium and recommended regulation through zoning, but nonetheless told the board to proceed cautiously: “I think the more cautious, the more conservative approach would be to move forward with adopting some form of data center zoning so that we can regulate it through special use permits,” he said.

Board member (speaker 4) moved to remove data centers from the ordinance and direct staff to return with additional safeguards and public hearings; the motion passed unanimously. The board then voted to adopt the remaining ordinance amendments (those not related to data centers). The decision preserves the county’s ability to regulate data centers in the future but postpones any specific local code that would explicitly allow or define them.

The board’s action followed a sustained public hearing in which scores of residents urged stronger limits, including caps on water withdrawals, annual independent noise testing, decommissioning bonds and larger setbacks from homes and waterways. Staff and the planning commission say they will revise the data-center language and present more options to the board before any new submissions proceed.