DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Three data center applications are pending approval in DeKalb County, according to county CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson.
She was part of a town hall meeting on Wednesday night to answer questions about the computer storage buildings.
“Certain issues are unique to location,” said Cochran-Johnson. “At this point, I’m not an advocate for any data center moving forward. I am not an advocate for them not.”
The county invited a computer science professor and leaders from across metro Atlanta to serve on a panel to explain their experience with this type of development.
The event was designed to address key areas, including energy, water use, infrastructure, power, cost, taxation, and jobs.
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“We have a lot of questions,” resident Gina Mangham told Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco.
She was in the crowd and is part of an organization called Renew DeKalb that was part of the push to put a hold on any new construction in July.
The panel told the audience that data centers have been around since the 1940s.
They are buildings full of computers that store digital information for businesses. There are 95 data centers currently active in Georgia, with another 60 proposed or under construction.
The panel told the crowd that advancements in technology call for more storage space. That requires more land, electricity and sometimes water than ever before.
“To be in my backyard poses a problem for me economically and environmentally,” said Joel Edwards.
However, developers argue that data centers can bring a large amount of money to local governments.
For example, the panel said Douglas County expects to make $26.93 million a year off of one data center.
“I mean, DeKalb County has not been great at the trickle-down theory, quite frankly,” said Mangham. “We would be concerned about how those monies would be spent. Even if they came directly to the county.”
The CEO said the three companies that have applied to build data centers in DeKalb County are asking to build them in Ellenwood, Candler Park, and on Constitution Rd. in the county.
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Commissioners put a hold on any new construction of data centers in July. That’s when they agreed they would like to build an ordinance establishing guidelines for the construction before any projects move forward.
The board is scheduled to vote on a proposed ordinance and lift the moratorium in December. However, they have extended the hold before.
Coweta and Douglas Counties are also in the process of building data center ordinances.
Atlanta, Forsyth County, and the city of South Fulton have already established guidelines.
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