COWETA COUNTY, GA — Coweta County commissioners are moving forward with plans to extend a limited moratorium on new applications for data centers into the fall.

During the discussion, residents voiced strong opinions about the future of such developments in their community. Resident Ron Bockrath urged officials to take a closer look at the evolving technology and potential impacts before approving additional projects. “Don’t write an ordinance that promotes old technology that’s going to be obsolete sooner and will yield less revenue,” Bockrath said.

He acknowledged that handling data center regulations has been a learning curve for county leaders but encouraged them to take the time to get it right. “You ran into some difficulty trying to address data centers and then you’ll say this is a ‘learning curve’, and yet it really is,” he added.

Some residents also expressed opposition to plans for the proposed “Project Peach” data center, saying if commissioners wouldn’t want to live near such a large facility, they shouldn’t expect residents to either.

County officials say the temporary moratorium allows time to study potential zoning changes and technological updates before considering any new data center applications.