Marietta city leaders approve new data center over community pushback
Marietta City Council approved the rezoning for an 18-megawatt data center project, despite community opposition and a recently enacted six-month moratorium on data centers. The approval came with conditions, including noise silencers and avoiding the city's municipal water supply. The decision followed hours of debate regarding the project's impact.
The Marietta City Council in Georgia recently approved a controversial data center project with a 5-2 vote, despite significant community opposition and a city-wide six-month moratorium on data centers that was passed just last month. The approval followed hours of debate over the proposed facility.
The project, located near I-75 and Delk Road, will convert a self-storage property into an 18-megawatt data facility. As part of the approval, developers are required to install noise silencers to minimize impact, conduct independent testing, and avoid using the city's municipal water and wastewater supply to address environmental concerns.
During the council meeting, residents expressed divided opinions. Some argued the data center would not provide positive community benefits and would "extract wealth," while others believed it would help position Marietta as a leading tech city. The property owner clarified that the facility is focused on information processing and not artificial intelligence. 11Alive's Dan Kennedy reported on the details of the approval and indicated further reporting would explore the implications of the existing moratorium.