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Residents press city for health, jobs and transparency answers as data center ordinance is drafted
Summary
Community members asked how data centers would affect health, property values, jobs and neighborhood notifications, and urged that companies attend future meetings; planning staff said many details depend on company proposals and that comments will be forwarded to the Commission.
Residents raised a range of concerns about proposed data-center rules: potential health effects from power lines and pollution, impacts on property values and noise, local hiring and long-term site cleanup. James Swannigan and other attendees asked how many data centers Augusta might permit and demanded industry participation in future meetings; staff said company-specific information (jobs, exact water use) would be provided by applicants and that the draft is intended to protect the community from future surprises.
Several speakers asked whether the ordinance could be fashioned to ban future data centers if public input favored that outcome. Planning staff responded that the governing board (Augusta Commission) would make any final policy choice and that staff will pass public comments along. On transparency and public participation, residents asked for required community meetings or afternoon/evening hearings that would allow more direct Q&A than weekday committee meetings; staff said they can recommend community meetings but must comply with state timelines for processing rezoning and special-exception applications.
