Coweta County residents file appeal to stop massive data center on protected rural land

A group of Coweta County residents has initiated legal action against Coweta County and Atlas Development, LLC, appealing a decision to rezone nearly 830 acres of environmentally sensitive rural conservation land for a "hyperscale" data center campus. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Coweta County Superior Court by seventeen residents, including farmers and landowners, seeks to overturn the county's approval of the rezoning and permanently block the project, known as "Project Sail." The contested land is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River basin and is designated by Georgia as a "Most Significant Groundwater Recharge Area." The appeal contends that the Coweta County Board of Commissioners disregarded its own ordinances and state law, violating residents' constitutional rights by approving a rezoning from rural conservation to industrial use. Residents argue that a significant amendment to Atlas Development's application in January 2026, seeking a broader industrial classification after the county adopted a new Data Center Ordinance in December 2025, should have triggered a new environmental review and public comment period, which did not occur. The county had previously imposed a 180-day moratorium on data center applications while developing the ordinance. Petitioners express concerns over potential declining property values, prolonged construction noise, damage to private water wells, increased traffic, light pollution, wildlife displacement, and continuous noise from diesel backup generators. Environmental red flags include the project's location in a critical groundwater recharge area and the data center's high water and electricity consumption, with potential catastrophic impacts on the local watershed. The appeal also challenges the economic benefits touted by the developer, presenting alternative analyses that project significantly lower tax revenues than claimed. The residents are asking the court to declare the rezoning void and halt further project action pending judicial review. Coweta County has declined to comment on pending litigation.