Potential data centers in McIntosh County will now have to apply for special use permits, per a zoning change approved by county commissioners on Tuesday.
Special permitting allows the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission greater oversight, including the ability to enact restrictions about noise, water systems and electricity. Proposals would also have to undergo at least one public hearing.
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“Before today, we had land in McIntosh County that was zoned [light industrial] and general commercial and general industrial. Somebody could have just come in and asked for a building permit,” said County Attorney Adam Poppell.
“That’s the importance of what happened today. We put that extra layer of protection in to require that, and this will allow the zoning board to put on special requirements.”
McIntosh currently has no data center applications, according to Poppell. Since the areas that received a special use designation aren’t large parcels, data center applicants will likely have to rezone agricultural areas first before going through the new permitting process.
The county previously considered the change in its Sept. 8 meeting, where they requested that the McIntosh Planning and Zoning Commission hold a public hearing and issue a recommendation. It was approved unanimously before it headed back to the county for a vote.
County officials called the zoning change a “stopgap measure” and shared they would be preparing a white paper about their findings.
Commissioners expressed concern about data centers finding legal loopholes in their codes, and took issue with the fact that permits for data centers could be issued without the oversight of an elected body, such as themselves. Generally, permits go through the Planning and Zoning Commission without oversight from the county commission.
“The whole reason why we’re doing this now is to prevent unelected officials or other bodies from doing something without even having a public hearing,” said Commissioner Roger Lotson, who represents McIntosh District 3.
Commissioners expressed interest in having oversight of special use permits that relate to data centers, and county officials responded that they would look into whether it was legally permissible.
The commission reaffirmed that they would be pursuing further action on data centers.
“What we’re doing today, potentially in a moment, is very important,” said Lotson. “We don’t need to stop there. There are other things that we need to make sure are in place that will prevent unintended consequences from happening.”
“I’d rather be ahead of the storm and not be in one, versus reeling and money is being thrown everywhere, trying to get something just pushed down our throats,” added Commissioner Christopher Jarriel, who represents McIntosh District 2.
The need for further preparation was echoed by Maggie Van Cantfort with the Altamaha Riverkeeper, who was the only citizen to give public comment. She supported the change, and noted that the Riverkeeper does not think data centers are a good fit for McIntosh.
“This is a yes-and situation. Yes, that’s good, and what are your next steps?” she said. “You can do that without a moratorium, but it’s important the work be done. Whether that is appointing a working group, a task force to sit down and do all the research, there are tons of resources out there now from other communities that passed ordinances.”
“We do want the county to be prepared and [to] protect the county as much as possible from the potential downsides of such an industrial development.”
