Garden City hits pause on data centers to study impact

Garden City City Council has unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on new data center applications and permits. This decision makes Garden City the first municipality in Chatham County, Georgia, to enact such a pause, allowing city staff, the planning and zoning commission, and the city council time to study the potential impacts of these facilities and develop appropriate ordinances. City Manager Rhonda Ferrell stated the moratorium is intended to ensure sufficient time to consider impacts and improve existing regulations.

The moratorium does not prevent the rezoning of land for data center use but specifically halts the acceptance of applications, issuance of permits, and licenses within Garden City limits. This move follows growing concerns across Georgia regarding the significant power and water consumption of data centers, which are rapidly expanding to support AI and cloud-computing services. The approval came less than a week after residents in nearby Port Wentworth organized a protest against data centers in their area.

While there are currently no "appreciable size" data centers in Coastal Georgia, according to One Hundred Miles North Coast Advocate Jeffery Beauvais, Science for Georgia reports over 100 in use or under construction statewide. Other coastal area localities like Bullock County, Camden County, and Kingsland, Georgia, have also implemented moratoriums. Kingsland notably received its first data center application in late April. Beauvais praised Garden City's cautious approach, expressing confidence in the staff's ability to research the impacts and learn from other local governments' experiences.