Commission adopts data-center ordinance with referral to planning for tighter energy, water and transparency rules

Athens-Clarke County commissioners voted April 7 to approve a text amendment regulating data centers as an industrial use and to immediately refer the ordinance back to the planning commission with directions to add seven specific criteria to the special‑use review process.

Commissioner Melissa Meyers read the seven requested additions into the record: (1) an energy‑consumption plan and annual reporting (including peak demand, renewable-energy sourcing and backup generation disclosure, plus a power‑allocation letter from the provider); (2) a water‑consumption sustainability plan with closed‑loop cooling requirements and drought vulnerability assessment; (3) clear disclosure of regulatory prioritization during constrained resources (who gets power/water during outages or droughts); (4) limits on facility size and clustering to avoid data‑center concentrations; (5) requirement or consideration of community benefits agreements for nearby residents; (6) decommissioning plans that include recycling and disposal rules for electrical and electronic infrastructure; and (7) an amendment to setback language (asking staff to evaluate changing 400 to 500 feet in the design standards).

Staff and the county attorney noted limits on local authority for some utility projects: certain public power entities are regulated at the state level and may not be fully subject to local land-use controls. Commissioners said the proposed referral and criteria are designed to capture the majority of private-sector data-center proposals and to strengthen special‑use review when the county does have jurisdiction.

Why it matters: Speakers from neighborhood and environmental groups told the commission that data centers pose risks to water supply, energy equity and environmental justice; commissioners responded by adding reporting, community‑benefit and decommissioning requirements to ensure more information and local leverage in the permitting process.

What’s next: The planning commission will incorporate the seven criteria into the special‑use permit framework for data centers and return a revised ordinance and standards for further public hearing and final action.