COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The Cobb County Board of Commissioners will discuss a potential moratorium on data center applications for permits and rezoning at Tuesday’s meeting.
The moratorium would apply to unincorporated parts of the county and, if passed, would last for 180 days, or until county officials believe they have properly amended its ordinance related to data center development.
According to a draft of the resolution to instate the moratorium, Cobb County commissioners have seen a proliferation of new data centers built in or planned for the metro Atlanta area and are concerned about local infrastructure impacts from the facilities.
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In order to mitigate potential negative impacts to communities across Cobb County, commissioners are discussing enacting a 180 day moratorium on applications to rezone for data center development as well as permits to build them.
The negative impacts listed by commissioners in the resolution draft include:
- noise pollution
- air quality impacts from cooling systems and backup generators
- undesirable aesthetics
- significant effects on power and water utilities
Should the moratorium pass, county staff would review current development regulations and land use permit requirements in the county code and propose potential changes to limit the impacts of data centers on surrounding properties and infrastructure.
The commission meeting begins at 7 p.m. The commission will hold a work session in the afternoon, beforehand, at 1:30 p.m.
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