LOWNDES COUNTY, GA (WTXL) — Lowndes County commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a 60-day moratorium on permit applications for data center developments in the area.
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The vote came after neighbors packed the commission chambers to weigh in on the proposal. Community members had called for a six-month moratorium.
County commissioners approved the interim pause while the county develops a comprehensive data center ordinance to evaluate the potential impacts and considerations that come with data center development.
Valdosta State University student, Noelle Lundy, was among the community members who spoke at Tuesday's meeting.
"In other communities that have been unfortunate to have data centers built in their neighborhoods, it has poisoned groundwater, decimated local bird populations, and caused insomnia in residents as well," Lundy said.
Lowndes County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bill Slaughter announced the outcome of the vote.
"We have a motion to approve the resolution as preceded, and that does include a 60-day moratorium on application for permits," Slaughter said.
Lundy said she appreciates the pause but wants a complete stop on the proposal altogether.
"We appreciate a 60-day pause to the building of the data center, but as we as a community have said in the meeting, we don't want the data center at all. We don't feel that a 60-day moratorium is a strong enough decision, um, in order to stop the construction of the data center," Lundy said.
More information on Lowndes County's stance on data centers is available through their Data Center Considerations page. The next county commission meeting is scheduled for Sept. 8.
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