Chatham County is the latest government in Coastal Georgia to press pause on large data centers.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved on Sept. 11 a 155-day moratorium on data centers requiring 10 megawatts or more of energy. The ordinance mirrors the one passed by Savannah City Council in August in the latest efforts by local governments to develop tools for governing data centers as they appear across the state.
Both Chatham County and Savannah’s moratoriums followed announcement of OpenAI’s plans for a massive $20 billion data center in Effingham County. Chatham County officials said the moratorium was intended to allow county staff to study potential impacts on county infrastructure and develop appropriate zoning classifications
for these types of developments.
“This moratorium is so we can give staff, we can give citizens the opportunity to gather more information,” said Chatham County Chairman Chester Ellis. “I hope we can avoid what happened in Effingham County when it showed it up as the community against the commissioners."
In addition to the 10 megawatt threshold, the county’s moratorium also prohibits conversion of 200,000-square-foot or more warehouses into data centers. The parameters match prohibitions in Savannah’s moratorium amid the area’s 10% vacancy in warehouse space, according to a Q2 market report from Jones Lang LaSalle.
District 7 Commissioner Dean Kicklighter made a public call for a county moratorium on the data centers after OpenAI’s Effingham County announcement. Kicklighter’s initial proposal was for a one-year moratorium, and he represents portions of west Chatham County, home to more undeveloped land and vacant warehouses.
Kicklighter ultimately supported the county’s 155-day proposal and pointed to an option in the proposal allowing commissioners to extend the moratorium for an additional 60 days. He also emphasized that the moratorium was not about being “anti-business” but ensuring the county protects neighborhoods in light of new development.
“We’re just for balance, and trying to strike this correct balance between residential neighborhoods and development,” Kicklighter said.
While supporting the moratorium, District 4 Commissioner Bran Hussey also expressed interest in the potential benefits of having a large data center in the county. Hussey specifically referenced potential benefits to the tax base, which could boost revenues for governments in the county, and also potential benefits of activating vacant warehouse space.
Hussey added it was important to quickly gather the “hard facts” during the study period so the county does not miss the window of oportunity for a center. Still, Hussey pledged to change his position if more negative impacts were found than positive during the study period.
But ultimately the commissioner charged his colleagues with considering the potential benefits. OpenAI is expected to be the largest taxpayer in Effingham County at full build out and has put the county’s board of commissioners on a path to eliminate property taxes by 2028.
“I think we have a duty to seek creative revenue streams that give our homeowners a much-needed break,” he said. “… (Data centers) are a massive potential revenue generator for Chatham County.”
Chatham County’s moratorium focused on large-scale data centers, but smaller ones may be the subject of a county pause as well. Commissioners have charged county staff with researching the small-scale centers and potentially drafting a moratorium for their development as well.
Small-scale data centers were not addressed by the City of Savannah’s moratorium or brought up as a concern by council members. A small telecommunications facility has been proposed in Savannah off Bull Street south of Forsyth Park; that proposal was continued by the Historic Preservation Commission in late August.
If the county passed a moratorium on small centers, it would be the first in the county.
Evan Lasseter is the City of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@savannahnow.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Chatham County puts hold on large data centers
