Protect Statesboro Leads Opposition to City Data Center Ordinance
The Protect Statesboro organization is campaigning against a city ordinance that could enable data center development within Statesboro. The group has collected 720 petition signatures and is seeking enough support to force a referendum on repealing the ordinance.
Protect Statesboro, led by co-founder Amy Denali, is organizing opposition to a Statesboro ordinance passed in June that establishes rules for data centers and could allow one to be built within city limits. The campaign emerged from a local working group as residents respond to multiple proposed data centers in the broader Coastal Empire and Lowcountry region.
The organization had gathered 720 signatures as of Tuesday and must reach a threshold equal to 20% of the registered voters from the last municipal election to trigger a public vote. Denali said the group is urging Mayor of Statesboro and the City Council to reconsider the ordinance and adopt rules that residents believe would be more sustainable and beneficial to the community.