East Point staff says city imposed six-month data-center moratorium; staff awaiting manager guidance

At the Feb. 12 work session, planning staff notified commissioners that the East Point mayor and City Council imposed a six-month moratorium on data-center uses on Jan. 12. Director Smith said staff has requested clarification from the city manager on whether planning staff should process related text amendments within the zoning-ordinance rewrite or handle them separately during the moratorium period.

The moratorium pauses staff acceptance of applications for data-center uses and gives the City Council time to consider text amendments or policy direction. Director Smith said staff would await the city manager’s guidance on next steps.

Why it matters: a moratorium halts permitting and application processing for a use category, giving the city time to review potential regulatory changes before new projects proceed. The commission will be updated when the manager provides direction or when the moratorium’s terms are clarified.

Next steps: staff to confer with the city manager and report back to the commission; any ordinance text amendments or referrals will be scheduled for public hearing as required.