DeKalb County Joins Neighbors With Temporary Data Center Ban

Another jurisdiction in the nation's fastest-growing data center market has passed a moratorium halting the development of new digital infrastructure.

DeKalb County, Georgia, which encompasses the east side of Atlanta as well as suburbs like Stone Mountain, Tucker and Dunwoody, narrowly passed a 100-day moratorium on new data center development last week, Decaturish reports.

The ban was instituted to allow county staff time to assess the impacts of the rapid growth in new data centers being built within and outside its borders. DeKalb has no specific regulations regarding data centers in its zoning ordinance, county staff said at the meeting.

The moratorium was approved by a 4-3 vote at the DeKalb County Commission's July 8 meeting. No application for a new data center development, including occupancy permits and business licenses, will be accepted in the county until Oct. 16.

DeKalb joins Bartow, Coweta and Douglas counties as Metro Atlanta jurisdictions that have passed moratoriums on data center developments, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. Data centers are also banned along the 22-mile Atlanta Beltline trail in the city.  

“DeKalb’s moratorium is part of a growing trend nationwide where fast-paced data center development is outpacing local planning and triggering community backlash,” said Adam Waitkunas, president of Milldam Public Relations, which operates a dedicated community relations practice for developers.

The political pushback to digital infrastructure comes amid a historic development boom.

Last year, Atlanta surpassed Northern Virginia as the top market in the country for data center demand for the first time, according to CBRE. The amount of data center space in the market tripled last year alone to 1 gigawatt. More than 2 gigawatts of data centers are under construction, and even more are in the long-term pipeline.

Locals are only beginning to grapple with the ways data centers have reshaped the landscape. Meta's $750M data center in Newton County has affected neighbors' water supply, The New York Times reports. Officials are raising alarms about the impact the power-guzzling properties could have on the electric grid.

“As data centers scale up rapidly — especially in booming markets like metro Atlanta — local officials are hitting pause to reassess impacts like noise, water use, and tax incentives,” Waitkunas said in an email.

“This sentiment could become a significant roadblock for developers unless they shift their approach.”