Bulloch County staff scrubbing data center, crypto mining possibilities from zoning regs

Bulloch County Planning and Development staff are proposing to eliminate all permissive references to data centers and cryptocurrency mining from the county's zoning ordinances. This action follows a May directive from the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners, which aims to prohibit such developments in the county's unincorporated areas.

Ironically, the proposed zoning text amendment will introduce a definition for "data center," but only to clarify what will no longer be permitted in various zoning categories. The amendment is scheduled for review by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, July 21, and if recommended, will advance to the Board of Commissioners for a vote, possibly on August 4.

In February, the commissioners initially imposed a 90-day moratorium on data center creation. On May 5, they extended this moratorium until December 31 and further directed staff to draft a zoning amendment for an outright prohibition. County Attorney Jeff Akins advised that a full ban required a zoning ordinance amendment.

The proposed changes also address existing regulations for cryptocurrency mining, which were enacted four years ago. The amendment would remove definitions for terms like "Commercial Cryptocurrency Mining" and modify related sections, consolidating them under the broader data center prohibition. Director James Pope explained that this is to ensure cryptocurrency mining, being a type of data center, is also disallowed. This county-level jurisdiction does not affect cities and towns within Bulloch County; for example, the Statesboro City Council recently approved an ordinance allowing data centers up to 50 acres within city limits.