April 14: Auburn plan commission recommends data center moratorium

The DeKalb County Plan Commission voted on April 8 to send a favorable recommendation to the DeKalb County Commissioners for a six-month development moratorium on data centers and their accessory facilities. The purpose of this proposed moratorium is to provide the plan commission and county commissioners with time to collect facts and information regarding planning, zoning, site development, potential environmental concerns, and other unknown items, while also gathering input from DeKalb County residents. Following this information-gathering period, the plan commission intends to draft a comprehensive ordinance specifically for data centers. DeKalb County Zoning Administrator Chris Gaumer confirmed that the commissioners were slated to consider the plan commission’s recommendation at their April 13 meeting. Plan commission attorney Andrew Kruse emphasized the necessity of a moratorium. He explained that without one, any data center applying for development while a new ordinance is being written would be grandfathered in under existing, less specific regulations. This temporary halt is crucial to prevent the establishment of data centers without adequate safety or community regulations, ensuring that new rules can be applied universally once finalized.