Athens-Clarke County extends data center moratorium amid community concerns
ATHENS, GA — The Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to extend its moratorium on new data centers until June 5, giving officials additional time to study how the rapidly expanding industry could impact the county's environment, industrial land, and community members.
The moratorium, first adopted in December 2025 and originally set to expire March 6, temporarily prevents new data centers from being established in Athens-Clarke County while officials work to develop zoning regulations for the facilities. Along with extending the moratorium, the commission also voted to hold a set of proposed text amendments to the county's code of ordinances related to data centers until its next voting meeting, with the intention of sending the proposal back to the Planning Commission for further revision.
Many residents and University of Georgia students spoke during public comment, urging commissioners to carefully evaluate the long-term consequences of data center development.
Grace Holmes, a UGA student involved in campus sustainability efforts, said she worries about the environmental effects of expanding the industry in Athens.
"The depletion of our resources and our energy is extremely concerning as a young person who's trying to grow up in Georgia, and I just want everything that can be done with the Athens clean energy and renewable plan to be followed through, along with these data centers," Holmes said.
Other speakers emphasized that data center development is still a relatively new issue for local governments.
Eli King, a UGA student and member of the Young Democrats of UGA, said policymakers should take time to study the industry before approving new projects.
"As students, it is our due diligence to learn, to serve, to inquire into the nature of things, not to prompt ChatGPT and not to watch places like the industrial zone get clustered with data centers," King said. "Data centers and their proliferation in the state of Georgia are a new phenomenon that the government has not caught up with yet."
King added that while the facilities may appear economically beneficial, their long-term impact remains uncertain.
Some residents also raised concerns about where the facilities might be located and who would bear their environmental impacts. One Athens resident told commissioners that industrial development often disproportionately affects Black neighborhoods.
"I say this loud and clear: no more data centers in our Black and working-class neighborhoods," the resident said. "This county is too small to bear the burden of these facilities."
The resident also warned against prioritizing economic development over community well-being.
"We cannot trade our health, our water, our air, our neighborhoods for corporate profit," the resident said. "Athens is too small, too proud, too connected to allow our neighborhoods to become industrial sacrifice zones."
The issue is expected to return to the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission after the Planning Commission reviews the proposed ordinance and recommends revisions to data center regulations.