OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

DeKalb County Night COW Meeting Discusses Data Center Text Amendment – June 3, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Committees — Wednesday, June 3, 2026
BodyDekalb County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees
DateWednesday, June 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:42:33

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Our night cow.

0:05

Um, today is the committee of the whole.

0:08

For those who are not aware what the committee of the whole is, we will have committee reports, agenda setting.

0:14

Um, we also have public comments scheduled at 6 30 as advertised, and that will go for 30 minutes.

0:21

And then after that, we'll have presentation and a discussion on the data center text amendment.

0:27

That that is discussion only.

0:28

This is not one of our voting meetings, so we'll have discussion with the hope being that out of that discussion from the commissioners tonight, we will give staff time and enough information to bring back another revision of the text amendment.

0:42

It is slated to come back to us on June 23rd for a public hearing.

0:47

So we're hoping to have that revision on June 23rd.

0:51

And then the um the moratorium is still in place, and that is voted to be or slated to be extended hopefully on June 9th, but it does not expire till June 23rd.

1:03

So just wanted to help set some ground rules and expectations for tonight's meeting, so it will be productive.

1:10

So if we will start with committee reports, um, Commissioner Patrick, are you good to go for your committee report?

1:18

Uh yes, madam.

1:33

Uh and we do have some of the largest spending priorities within the county uh as it relates to public works and infrastructure.

1:40

Um today we actually had a fairly productive meeting.

1:43

I think we went through nine pages of agenda items.

1:46

Um of the things that we're working on are very specific to DeCab, obviously, South DeCab in particular.

1:52

Uh, we recently approved about 50 million dollars worth of water and sewer improvements as they relate to sewer spills within DeCab County.

2:00

Uh, there are about 14 areas that are well known for frequent sewer spills.

2:04

Money is going in to fix those.

2:06

Not only is it going in to fix the spills, it's also going into enhancing or enlarging the capacity to handle those uh sewer spills, that new flow that's coming down.

2:16

Um, another item worth talking about is today in committee.

2:19

We discussed a project of worth uh 325 million dollars, again with uh sewer improvements for the community that are going to be important for all of us to make sure that we have good drinking water as well as have sewage that flows away where it needs to be and not back at our properties.

2:36

With that, madam presiding officer, thank you very much.

3:20

Serving on that committee with me as well are commissioners Marita Davis Johnson and Commissioner Nicole Messiah.

3:27

Just a few items uh to update you guys on that previous meeting, what we were able to discuss and some things we were able to get accomplished.

3:36

There was item 2026 0903, which is a fire rescue item, and it was to discuss street lighting lease agreement for fire station 16 and 27.

3:48

I know some of you are looking forward to this.

3:51

At that meeting, that item was deferred, however, this morning it was approved.

3:56

Uh, again, that street lighting lease agreement for the fire station 16 and 27.

4:04

There were some contracts as well, including maintenance and cleaning of PPE personal protective equipment, also for our fire safety, and today we approved item 0303, which was an item uh for fire safety that had to do with their self-contained breathing apparatuses, and this was to purchase and repair maintenance.

4:29

And this is equipment that they need to better serve you.

4:33

We approved 0840.

4:35

This was an agreement of mutual aid and assistance between DeCab County and the city of Atlanta.

4:41

Of course, you know periodically there is support for law enforcement services.

4:47

Also recommended for approval 0842.

4:50

This is a grant, and uh for our police department, they've got quite a few grants this year.

4:56

This one is the Urban Area Security Initiative, which is also referred to as URC.

5:03

There were several items that had to be held in committee.

5:07

We just did not get an opportunity to get to those previously, but we did discuss some of them today.

5:13

That's 0683.

5:15

That's to approve a resolution to address egregious littering and the illegal dumping of scrap tires.

5:21

I know some of you are looking forward to that.

5:23

Item 0596, which is an ordinance to regulate the restraint and transportation of animals.

5:30

We didn't have a great conversation on that today, but it was held previously.

5:35

And there was also held in committee item 0769, which was a resolution requesting the administration to establish oversight and auditing for one of our committees and or excuse me.

5:54

And with that, I yield back.

5:56

Thank you, Madam Earpse Chair.

5:57

I will now move over to the FAB committee.

6:00

Commissioner Terry.

6:01

Thank you, Madam Chair.

6:03

Just a couple quick reports here.

6:05

We will have a meeting next Tuesday for the Finance Audit and Budget Committee.

6:08

We'll be discussing the DeCap County Water Customer Bill of Rights, as well as we do have an agenda item that we'll mention today for the uh award of the request for proposal for the financial advisory services for the finance department as well as uh DeCAP County government.

6:25

And we also will be having uh a report on the audit of the DeCap County Tree Bank, and then uh the last thing that we did approve out of FAB was an extension of the existing PFM contract to the end of the year to finish up any bonding uh work that we will need as well as uh putting together a banking services RFP uh with the goal of having that completed by the end of the year so the county can entertain uh new opportunities for banking services for um the county government.

6:57

With that, I'll yield back.

6:58

Thank you.

7:00

Thank you, Commissioner Terry, and now we'll have um an ops committee report from Commissioner Marita Davis Johnson.

7:09

Thank you, madam presiding officer, and good evening.

7:12

I am Marita Davis Johnson, and I'd like to welcome everyone here to District 5 this evening.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Data Center Regulation█████████████████████████████████████████████47%
Procedural███████████████16%
Public Engagement████████████13%
Environmental Protection█████5%
Community Engagement████4%
Public Works Maintenance███3%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Animal Welfare███3%
Public Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

DeKalb County Night COW Meeting Discusses Data Center Text Amendment – June 3, 2026

This meeting of the DeKalb County Committee of the Whole (COW) was held at 6:30 PM on June 3, 2026, and was focused on public comments, committee reports, agenda setting, and a discussion of the proposed text amendment regulating data centers. The meeting was a discussion-only session, with no voting, and was intended to provide guidance for a revised amendment to be presented at a public hearing on June 23, 2026. The data center moratorium remains in place, with a planned extension vote on June 9, 2026.

Consent Calendar

  • The board approved the proposed executive agenda for June 9, 2026, including consent items for various committees. Notable consent items included: approval of a home rule ordinance to add a death benefit for pension plan participants killed in the line of duty; an extension of the PFM contract for financial advisory services; approval of a $44,840 grant from the CDC/Georgia DPH for the Medical Examiner’s Office; and acceptance of a $382,606.81 UASI grant amendment.
  • Several items were assigned to committees (ERPS, FAB, OPS, PECS, PWI) as noted in the agenda review.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Rosalind McIntyre (District not specified) expressed opposition to the current text amendment, arguing it fails to address noise and health impacts from infrasound (low-frequency vibrations) emitted by data centers, drawing parallels to torture techniques.
  • Jan Dunaway (District 4, DeKalb Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor) raised concerns about the amendment’s lack of specificity on water usage, discharge of chemicals, and drought planning. She cited a WSB story on a Meta data center using 102,000 gallons/day even with a closed-loop system, and argued DeKalb cannot afford large-scale data center water use given its consent decree.
  • Gina Mangum (Southeast DeKalb, Districts 5 & 7) noted that in July 2025, a county planning official stated the county could not accommodate large data centers due to infrastructure limits, yet the county issued two zoning certification letters (to Hickory Real Estate Partners and Shadow Box Studios). She argued the text amendment has not adequately addressed water system concerns.
  • Jackie Malcolm (District 3, Cedar Grove community) argued the amendment does not protect residents, citing existing health issues (high blood pressure, cardiac arrests, birth mortality) in South DeKalb and Lithonia, and stating that diesel backup generators would worsen pollution. She called for a moratorium until consent decree repairs are met.
  • Gerald DeVito (District not specified) expressed conditional support for data centers, stating they are needed for AI but must be properly sited with renewable energy and not rely on fossil fuels or tax breaks. He urged commissioners to set conditions.
  • Austin Carl (Candler McAfee) opposed data centers, arguing they strain water and power grids, produce infrasound and heat islands (citing research showing 4°F temperature increase), and are part of a speculative AI bubble. He called for extending the moratorium.
  • Amy Fields Taylor (Key Road resident, near proposed data centers) opposed data centers, stating residents will sue if they get sick or lose property value, and urged the board to ban data centers outright, citing examples in West Georgia where communities said no.
  • Jordan Moses (District 3) expressed opposition, referencing a Decaturish article about a commissioner emailing with Ryan Millsap (who he called a racist and anti-Semite), and argued the board should pause until community safety is ensured.
  • Paige Salter (District 3, Bouldercrest) begged for a permanent ban on data centers, noting the 2021 Intrenchment Creek land swap with Ryan Millsap/Blackhall where public land was transferred and obligations not enforced. She stated the proposed data center at 2235 Bouldercrest Road is the same 40 acres from that swap.
  • Keanu Jones Moore (District 3 resident and candidate for DeKalb County Commission District 3) expressed opposition, alleging that county code compliance removed her campaign signs. She criticized the ordinance as not protecting the community and accused commissioners of environmental racism.
  • Jocelyn O’Neal (Greater Towers area) expressed opposition to data centers, asking for no campus data centers within a mile of communities. She also raised concerns about coyotes, missing cats, tree limbs, road drainage, and requested an update on Glenwood Road sidewalk project.
  • Dwayne Cole (Deer Creek community, 27-year resident) requested an immediate safety assessment and resurfacing priority for Blantyre Boulevard due to a large fissure near his home, which he fears could undermine his house.
  • Terry Mary (District not specified; small business owner, Anglican priest) expressed cautious optimism, stating the amendment is a floor not a ceiling, and urged the board to be on the leading edge.
  • Dr. Lisa Taylor (District not specified) opposed data centers, stating residents will not sleep until the issue is settled. She also asked how the non-lynching plaque at the DeKalb County Courthouse can be removed.

Discussion Items

  • Data Center Text Amendment Presentation and Discussion: The planning and sustainability team presented the current version of the text amendment (Version 3.5, unchanged since January 22, 2026). The presentation covered data center classifications (minor, medium, major, campus), permitted locations, buffers, noise limits (65 dBA day/55 dBA night), closed-loop cooling, tier 4 generators, architectural requirements (75-foot height plus 30 feet for rooftop equipment), and required plans (noise impact, water consumption, energy consumption, decommissioning, tree preservation, stormwater, transmission line impact, sewer plan). Staff emphasized that the amendment provides a framework and layers of accountability beyond zoning.
  • Commissioner Comments and Requests for Revisions: Commissioners expressed a range of positions, with several requesting specific changes to the ordinance before a vote. Key proposals included:
    • Commissioner Michelle Long Spears questioned the need for a public art ordinance tie-in, requested increased buffers (doubling to 1,000 feet from residential and parks/trails), questioned the 65 dBA noise limit (noting Loudoun County uses 50 dBA), and asked about the feasibility of solar/wind capacity.
    • Commissioner Marita Davis Johnson recommended requiring data centers to build their own power sources, prohibiting incentives for data centers, and requiring water recycling.
    • Commissioner Nicole Messiah emphasized concerns about infrasound, water discharge, and the need for a bond system and more frequent reporting. She clarified she does not support large data centers in District 3 but supports a framework for regulation.
    • Commissioner Ludina Bolton proposed capping maximum square footage at 500,000 sq ft for undeveloped land, using a 1,000-foot buffer, and requiring environmental impact studies for facilities over 500,000 sq ft. She also suggested limiting clustering.
    • Commissioner Ted Terry opposed moving forward quickly, citing a survey showing 55% of Americans strongly oppose data centers. He argued the ordinance contains loopholes (e.g., allowing a 6-million-sq-ft data center without a public hearing) and that his proposed amendments have not been included. He called for a longer moratorium and a public health assessment, citing new research on microclimates being 4-10 degrees hotter near data centers.
    • Commissioner Robert Patrick proposed a one-year moratorium to await PSC elections and state action. He requested staff research on infrasound science and water cleaning processes for industrial use.
    • Chair Lorraine Cochrane Johnson supported extending the moratorium, requiring a special land use permit for all data centers, expanded buffer to 750 feet, a cap on campus size (potential 1 million sq ft), and inclusion of infrasound/low-frequency noise language.

Key Outcomes

  • The board agreed to extend the data center moratorium (vote scheduled for June 9, 2026) and directed staff to bring a revised text amendment to the June 23, 2026 public hearing. It was anticipated that the amendment would be deferred again to allow time for public review of changes.
  • Commissioners provided specific requests for revisions to the ordinance, including: increasing buffers to 1,000 feet (or at least 750 feet) from residential, parks, and trails; requiring special land use permits for all data center applications; capping campus size (e.g., 500,000 sq ft or 1 million sq ft); requiring closed-loop water systems with recycling; requiring data centers to build their own power sources; prohibiting incentives; addressing infrasound/low-frequency noise; and requiring a bond system and more frequent reporting.
  • No final vote was taken on the text amendment; the discussion was intended to inform the next iteration.

Meeting Transcript

Our night cow. Um, today is the committee of the whole. For those who are not aware what the committee of the whole is, we will have committee reports, agenda setting. Um, we also have public comments scheduled at 6 30 as advertised, and that will go for 30 minutes. And then after that, we'll have presentation and a discussion on the data center text amendment. That that is discussion only. This is not one of our voting meetings, so we'll have discussion with the hope being that out of that discussion from the commissioners tonight, we will give staff time and enough information to bring back another revision of the text amendment. It is slated to come back to us on June 23rd for a public hearing. So we're hoping to have that revision on June 23rd. And then the um the moratorium is still in place, and that is voted to be or slated to be extended hopefully on June 9th, but it does not expire till June 23rd. So just wanted to help set some ground rules and expectations for tonight's meeting, so it will be productive. So if we will start with committee reports, um, Commissioner Patrick, are you good to go for your committee report? Uh yes, madam. Uh and we do have some of the largest spending priorities within the county uh as it relates to public works and infrastructure. Um today we actually had a fairly productive meeting. I think we went through nine pages of agenda items. Um of the things that we're working on are very specific to DeCab, obviously, South DeCab in particular. Uh, we recently approved about 50 million dollars worth of water and sewer improvements as they relate to sewer spills within DeCab County. Uh, there are about 14 areas that are well known for frequent sewer spills. Money is going in to fix those. Not only is it going in to fix the spills, it's also going into enhancing or enlarging the capacity to handle those uh sewer spills, that new flow that's coming down. Um, another item worth talking about is today in committee. We discussed a project of worth uh 325 million dollars, again with uh sewer improvements for the community that are going to be important for all of us to make sure that we have good drinking water as well as have sewage that flows away where it needs to be and not back at our properties. With that, madam presiding officer, thank you very much. Serving on that committee with me as well are commissioners Marita Davis Johnson and Commissioner Nicole Messiah. Just a few items uh to update you guys on that previous meeting, what we were able to discuss and some things we were able to get accomplished. There was item 2026 0903, which is a fire rescue item, and it was to discuss street lighting lease agreement for fire station 16 and 27. I know some of you are looking forward to this. At that meeting, that item was deferred, however, this morning it was approved. Uh, again, that street lighting lease agreement for the fire station 16 and 27. There were some contracts as well, including maintenance and cleaning of PPE personal protective equipment, also for our fire safety, and today we approved item 0303, which was an item uh for fire safety that had to do with their self-contained breathing apparatuses, and this was to purchase and repair maintenance. And this is equipment that they need to better serve you. We approved 0840. This was an agreement of mutual aid and assistance between DeCab County and the city of Atlanta. Of course, you know periodically there is support for law enforcement services. Also recommended for approval 0842. This is a grant, and uh for our police department, they've got quite a few grants this year. This one is the Urban Area Security Initiative, which is also referred to as URC. There were several items that had to be held in committee. We just did not get an opportunity to get to those previously, but we did discuss some of them today. That's 0683. That's to approve a resolution to address egregious littering and the illegal dumping of scrap tires. I know some of you are looking forward to that. Item 0596, which is an ordinance to regulate the restraint and transportation of animals. We didn't have a great conversation on that today, but it was held previously. And there was also held in committee item 0769, which was a resolution requesting the administration to establish oversight and auditing for one of our committees and or excuse me. And with that, I yield back. Thank you, Madam Earpse Chair. I will now move over to the FAB committee. Commissioner Terry.

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