Sounds of protestors chanting, “Not for us!” outside Marietta City Hall interrupted the city council meeting inside on Wednesday night.
Inside, the chambers overflowed with people ready to talk about concerns, even though data centers were not on the agenda for the meeting.
“I want to be heard,” JoAnne Cheek told Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco.
Cheek said she has lived near Bells Ferry Road and Interstate 75 for 30 years. That’s where developers have been discussing building a data center on 31 acres of land.
“Most people are not for data centers,” Gavin Budell said.
The City of Marietta said no construction plans were on the agenda. No work is underway.
However, the city said the council did approve a request to rezone the land from commercial/retail to light industrial last year.
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The city said the zoning changed following public notice, public comment, and a two-and-a-half-hour town hall meeting.
“That was not advertised enough,” Cheek said. “This is not right. Our council can’t do this to us.”
One person who spoke in front of the council on Wednesday disagreed.
Neighbors who are concerned that construction could start soon want to get ahead of it.
The city said any plans would have to adhere to regulations related to data center, power, noise, and water use.
Marietta Power said that because of regulations, a data center on that property would not place a strain on the electrical grid or impact current customers.