NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — At a recent board meeting, Newton County commissioners voted to enact two different moratoriums for the next 30 days.
Similar to multiple other local governments across the metro Atlanta area, the Newton County Board of Commissioners passed an ordinance enacting a moratorium on new data center permitting and applications for development.
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During the moratorium, county staff will review development ordinances and discuss potential new regulations for data center construction.
The moratorium passed unanimously.
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The commissioners also passed a 30-day moratorium on the permitting and development applications of convenience stores in the county, including gas stations and other stores that could potentially sell alcohol.
Commissioners said during discussion of the moratorium that there are currently 16 convenience store permit applications under review, with 13 of them filed just this year.
To better handle the influx of applications, and with some commissioners concerned about safety and underage drinking, the moratorium was approved to give county staff time to review the Unified Development Ordinance and determine if additional regulations were needed.
During the meeting, commissioners said there was a possibility they could amend the UDO to make said stores be placed further apart, rather than having what a commissioner described as a store on each corner at a four-way stop.
At the vote, the ordinance passed 4-1, implementing a 30-day block on new applications.
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