Toccoa City Commission approves Data Center Ordinance Moratorium
The Toccoa City Commission unanimously approved a moratorium on new data center ordinances until January 11, 2027. This decision was made to allow the city to study potential impacts like size, lighting, traffic, noise, and water consumption, and to develop suitable zoning requirements. Stephens County had previously extended its own data center moratorium.
The Toccoa City Commission in Georgia unanimously approved a moratorium on new data center developments until January 11, 2027. City Attorney Greg Sowell explained that the pause is necessary to allow the city to study the potential impacts of data centers, including their size, lighting, traffic, noise, and water consumption, and to develop appropriate zoning requirements.
This decision follows discussions during a work session and mirrors similar actions taken by other communities in Georgia and nationwide. Sowell emphasized the importance of ensuring data center construction complements the community rather than conflicting with existing property uses.
The moratorium aims to give the attorney's office and a proposed study group sufficient time to research and present recommendations to the City Commission regarding future data center zoning ordinances. The Stephens County Board of Commissioners, which encompasses Toccoa, had previously extended its own data center permitting moratorium from July through October, also to allow time for ordinance development. Neither the city nor the county has received any data center applications to date.