Brookwood Planning and Zoning Commission recommends rezoning request of more than 370 acres
The Brookwood Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended a rezoning petition for 374 acres for "Project Brookwood," which is slated to be a data center campus. This decision moves to the city council in a few weeks, despite residents' questions and ongoing environmental concerns about data center development in the area.
The Brookwood Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to recommend a rezoning petition for 374 acres, known as “Project Brookwood,” to light industrial use, with the petition explicitly stating a “data center campus.” The decision was made in a packed meeting on Tuesday, August 11.
The recommendation now advances to the city council for a final decision in the coming weeks. The project has sparked questions from local residents regarding the rezoning process and a lack of public answers. Mayor Joe Barger, who is also a member of the planning and zoning commission, has signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) regarding the project and declined to answer questions from reporters.
This rezoning is reportedly separate from a permit recently approved by ADEM (Alabama Department of Environmental Management) for another large data center across from Brookwood Middle School, which has also raised environmental and transparency concerns among neighbors.