Public Hearing: YES ☒ NO ☐ Department: Planning & Sustainability
SUBJECT:
Title
COMMISSION DISTRICT(S): All Districts
Application of the Director of Planning and Sustainability to amend Chapter 27 to Establish a Definition, Regulatory Guidelines, and Development Standards for Data Centers in M (Industrial), M-2 (Heavy Industrial), O-I (Office-Institutional), and O-D (Office-Distribution) zoning districts. This text amendment is County-wide.
Body
PETITION NO: D1-2025-0972 TA-25-1247647
PROPOSED USE: Data Centers in M, M-2 & O-I zoning districts.
LOCATION: County-wide.
PARCEL NO.: N/A
INFO. CONTACT: Eva Chauveau, Long Range Planner
PHONE NUMBER: 404-371-2155
PURPOSE:
Application of the Director of Planning and Sustainability to amend Chapter 27 to Establish a Definition, Regulatory Guidelines, and Development Standards for Data Centers in M (Industrial), M-2 (Heavy Industrial), O-I (Office-Institutional), and O-D (Office-Distribution) zoning districts. This text amendment is County-wide.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommended Action
COMMUNITY COUNCIL: (October 2025) CC-1: Approval; CC-2: Deferral; CC-3: Full-cycle deferral; CC-4: Full-cycle deferral; CC-5: Full-cycle deferral. (August 2025) CC-1: Full-cycle deferral; CC-2: Deferral; CC-3: Full-cycle deferral; CC-4: Denial; CC-5: Denial.
PLANNING COMMISSION: (Nov. 6, 2025) Approval. Sept. 9, 2025) Full-Cycle Deferral.
PLANNING STAFF: (November 2025) Deferral_11.12.205. (September 2025) Approval.
STAFF ANALYSIS: Planning Staff has collaborated with DeKalb County’s Watershed Department to address water consumption concerns. Staff has also relied on key information from Georgia Power, Atlanta Regional Commission, Data Center developers, and the public, to ensure that regulations are conducive to the development goals of the County and the community. While the proposed ordinance may not address every potential issue at this time, it establishes a necessary regulatory framework to guide the location and operation of data centers within DeKalb County. In the absence of such regulations, these facilities could locate in areas where they may be incompatible with surrounding uses or community expectations. As the County gains experience administering these provisions, refinements can be made to address any emerging challenges or unforeseen impacts. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the Planning & Sustainability Department that the application be for “Deferral”.
PLANNING COMMISSION VOTE: (November 6, 2025) Approval 5-0-1. Commissioner Costello moved, Commissioner Patton seconded for approval, per Staff recommendation. Commissioner Cooper abstained. (September 9, 2025) Full-cycle deferral 9-0-0. Commissioner West moved, Commissioner Cooper seconded for a full-cycle deferral to the November 2025 zoning agenda.
COMMUNITY COUNCIL VOTE/RECOMMENDATION: (October 2025) CC-1: Approval 6-0-0; CC-2: Deferral 9-0-0; CC-3: Full-cycle deferral (5-3-0) due to the community council not having a final draft to review; CC-4: Full-cycle deferral 8-0-0; CC-5: Full-cycle deferral 6-0-0 until final report has been completed. (August 2025) CC-1: Full-cycle deferral 6-0-0; CC-2: Deferral 8-0-0; CC-3: Full-cycle deferral 10-0-0. Discussion included but not limited to that the text amendment needed to be tweaked to address potential noise concerns, should not allow near residential areas, consider requiring use of renewable resources such as solar and rainwater catchments, simplify distance calculation; CC-4: Denial 6-1-1. Council cited not enough regulation for proposed data centers; CC-5: Denial 8-0-0.