Residents press commission as Planning Commission recommends Powers Ferry data facility 4–3

The Marietta Planning Commission on Wednesday recommended that city council approve a rezoning request to allow portions of the self-storage site at 1155 Powers Ferry Place to be converted to a 12-megawatt data infrastructure facility, voting 4–3 after lengthy public comment.

Parks Huff, counsel for the applicant, told the commission the proposal is an adaptive reuse of an existing PACE warehouse and stressed technical measures the company will take. "This is a 12 megawatt data computing infrastructure center," Huff said. He described the cooling as a closed-loop system that "does not use municipal water" and said backup generators are only for outages.

Opposition during public comment was extensive. Resident David Baker asked the commission to pause data center approvals until regulators understand the technology better, saying, "For the sake of citizens in the city limits, I would ask that we place a short term pause on data center development within city limits until the technology hits maturity." Several speakers raised similar concerns about noise, local power demand and long-term community impacts.

Engineer Bellucci, who identified himself as the lead engineer on the project, answered technical questions about the cooling system and alarms, telling the commission, "Closed loop system basically means that it stays within piping and the radiators the whole time." Applicant representative Jonathan Krausha said initial water for the closed loop would be trucked in and "would not be coming from Marietta Water and Power."

Commissioners discussed the zoning and the city noise ordinance. Huff told the board the project will meet the city's 60-decibel nighttime limit and that the applicant will install sound walls and sound-rated equipment. Opponents pointed to staff analysis and to nearby examples to argue that similar projects have produced unanticipated noise or infrastructure burdens.

After deliberations, a motion to forward a recommendation of denial was made and seconded, but an alternative motion to recommend approval passed by a 4–3 vote. The chair reminded the public that the Planning Commission is advisory and that the city council will take the final decision next week. The commission's recommendation includes the applicant's proposed stipulations on sound mitigation and equipment siting.