DEKALB COUNTY, GA — DeKalb County residents are getting a clearer picture of how officials plan to regulate data centers looking to set up in the area, as planners work through a 100-day moratorium to craft a new ordinance.
At least three companies are currently scouting DeKalb County for data-center locations. During a virtual town hall, residents submitted questions about potential energy use, environmental impacts, and health concerns tied to the facilities.
Senior Planner Tricia Prevost said the county’s goal is to be proactive as it builds out the rules. “We don’t want to allow data center development and then years down the line realize we maybe shouldn’t have allowed certain things or done things differently,” she said.
Prevost added that planners have been working through regulations on everything from architecture and noise, to lighting, water consumption, stormwater management, tree preservation, and parking. “Our goal with this is to create layers of accountability. We really want to be proactive in this ordinance rather than reactive,” she said.
County Planning Director Juliana Njoku told residents they intend to hold any data-center developer to high standards. “The ordinance is written for responsible, sustainable, engaged actors, as opposed to those who are just land-grabbing and hoping to put something in play,” Njoku said. She added, “The ordinance that we’re putting forth is going to the top of the standard… If there are any violations of those standards we will clear up front.”
The draft ordinance will be sent to the Board of Commissioners on November 20.
Without an extension, DeKalb County’s moratorium on data centers expires December 16.
WSB Radio’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story.