City of Griffin working on zoning amendments to initially allow only smaller data centers

The City of Griffin Board of Commissioners recently reviewed proposed amendments to its Unified Development Code (UDC) aimed at regulating data center development within city limits. The city currently lacks specific regulations for data centers, which prompted the BOC to impose a 180-day moratorium in January on "technological facilities" like data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations. This pause allowed city staff, including Assistant City Manager of Development Services Kelsey Carden and Director of Planning & Development Michelle Haynes, to research and formulate new zoning requirements. The proposed amendments recommend limiting data center sizes through a special use permit process, specifically within Planned Industrial Development zones. They define "minor data centers" as single buildings up to 10,000 square feet and "major data centers" as those between 10,000 and 275,000 square feet, potentially including a substation. These initial regulations are designed to prevent the immediate development of hyperscale data centers, like one recently approved in neighboring Spalding County, which features three buildings totaling 2.4 million square feet. Kelsey Carden emphasized the city's right to regulate zoning to protect public health, safety, and welfare, while also balancing property owners' rights. She clarified that an outright ban on data centers is not permissible, so the goal is to establish comprehensive regulations to safeguard citizens and neighboring properties from potential nuisances associated with such developments. The multi-departmental effort involved planning, water, wastewater, electric, economic development, stormwater, IT, and telecom divisions.