MARIETTA, Ga. — After hours of heated debate, Marietta city leaders gave the green light for a data center project near Interstate 75 and Delk Road.
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The five to two city council vote to approve the rezoning needed for the project has drawn strong reactions from both sides.
So many people packed into Marietta City Hall’s council chamber, some had to watch from the lobby.
Supporters argue that the project will bring new investment and tax revenue to Marietta, but opponents are raising concerns about noise and energy use to the impact on people who live nearby.
The owner of a self-storage facility wants to redevelop the 11-acre property into an 18-megawatt data infrastructure.
“This is the future what we are delivering there. It’s going to be amazing,” one supporter said. “It’s not a data center. We don’t store data. We don’t manufacture data. It has nothing to do with AI.”
However, opponents had concerns about the facility’s energy use, potential noise, heat and environmental impacts.
At one point in the meeting, an opponent was escorted out by police after raising questions about documents connected to the proposal.
“Why are there four completely redacted documents to this proposal?” said the opponent.
After the debate, five of the seven council members voted to move the project forward. As of right now, it remains unclear when construction will begin.
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