Burkhalter Road data center developers intend to move forward, despite challenge to zoning
4AM Development LLC plans to proceed with a data center project in Statesboro, Georgia, despite a legal challenge filed by local citizens. The challenge seeks to reverse the Statesboro City Council's 3-2 vote to rezone the 27-acre property, which would allow for the data center's development, and invokes a state law to potentially halt further permitting.
Statesboro, Georgia – 4AM Development LLC, led by Bobby Bagwell and Charles Way, intends to move forward with plans for a data center along Burkhalter Road, despite a legal challenge filed last week in Bulloch County Superior Court. The lawsuit, brought by the nonprofit Coastal Communities United and 11 individuals, seeks to reverse the Statesboro City Council's August 18 decision to rezone the nearly 27-acre tract from high-density residential to office and business, a move that could permit the data center.
The City Council approved the rezoning by a 3-2 vote, with Mayor Jonathan McCollar casting the tie-breaking vote. Following this, the petitioners filed a complaint with the Superior Court on September 17, requesting a review of the rezoning and a declaratory judgment against the city's action. The complaint suggests that petitioners have "suffered damages" and asserts that the filing should "stay all legal proceedings in furtherance of the action," though the city attorney indicated no injunctive relief has been granted to halt the special use permit process.
Developers Bagwell and Way, whose primary experience is in residential development, stated they were not surprised by the legal challenge, noting similar opposition to other data center projects in Georgia. They confirmed they would not operate the data center themselves but plan to sell or lease the property to an end user. The project proposes a two-story, 230,000-square-foot data center and has applied for up to 99 megawatts of electrical supply from Georgia Power, utilizing a closed-loop cooling system as required by the city's recently enacted Technological Facilities and Data Centers Ordinance.
This city ordinance, passed on June 2, prohibits "hyperscale" data centers larger than 50 acres and allows "edge" data centers up to 50 acres only as special uses in specific zoning classifications. While the rezoning for 4AM Development's property was approved, the special use permit remains pending. City Manager Charles Penny previously stated that officials would not consider approving a special use permit without knowing the end user, a point the developers acknowledge makes it difficult to fully engage potential operators.