STATESBORO — In front of a standing-room-only crowd and against the shouts and honks of protesters outside, the City of Statesboro voted to approve a rezoning request that would allow for a future data center development.
The rezoned property is a 26.49-acre parcel at 6529 Burkhalter Road. The City Council voted 3-2 to approve rezoning this property from “R-4” high-density residential to “O” office or business district at the request of Augusta-based 4AM Development LLC. The development group has shared that it’s been in talks with potential companies to operate a data center at the site, which new zoning would allow.
District 1 Councilwoman Tangie Johnson and District 3 Councilwoman Ginny Hendley voted to approve the rezoning request. District 4 Councilman John Riggs and Mayor Pro Tem Shari Barr voted against it. Mayor Johnathan McCollar broke the tie, and the motion to approve the rezoning request was passed.
The council made this decision in front of a packed chamber, filled mostly with people opposed to the rezoning and data center development within the Statesboro city limits. About five people had the chance to speak against the rezoning request during a 15-minute public hearing time slot. They raised concerns about property values, pollution and disrupting the integrity of a residential area.
“I think it’s awful what they’re doing … to the people of Statesboro,” Barbara Ortega, a nearby resident of the site, said. “I just moved here in March … to a quiet place with no traffic. I guess I’ve moved into a world of a big mess.”
Ortega said she was disappointed that a data center development was being considered near residential neighborhoods, schools and churches.
“They don’t need all that stuff in a subdivision of people,” she said. “They’re not protecting the people of their town. Why can’t it be taken out around an industrial park?”
Beth Bennett, a longtime Bulloch County resident who also lives in a neighborhood close to the site, pointed out several neighborhoods located within a mile of where the future data center would be built.
“There are literally thousands of people … everybody who lives in these areas are going to be impacted,” she said. “When my husband and I bought our home, we bought it in a residential area, and I think that residential area should remain residential.”
Bennett said she was concerned about the potential impact on home values and questioned whether city ordinances intended to regulate the data center could be changed in the future. The mayor confirmed they could.
“I always found raising children, you let a kid get their foot in the door, by God, they are through it lickety-split, folks,” she said. “I don’t want to see my house devalued because you rezone.”
She also urged officials to consider allowing residents to vote on the proposal through a city referendum.
“I look at you guys as our defenders,” Bennett said to the council. “You’re supposed to defend the people. It’s clear from the reaction that you have in this room that there are a lot of people who are opposed to this.”
Meaghan Walsh Gerard, communications and administrative director for the Ogeechee Riverkeeper, said that overall, the rezoning would conflict with the city's comprehensive plan, which designates the area as a developing neighborhood. This designation emphasizes residential development, walkability, connectivity and preservation of open space and natural resources.
She also pointed out that the comprehensive plan designates commercial use in this area, listing “small groceries, barber shops, drug stores and corner commercial developments.”
“Data centers do not fulfill either of these, and they actually harm the goals set out in the comprehensive plan,” she said.
Gerard said approving the project could affect existing and future residential development by making the surrounding area less desirable to homeowners and developers.
“People don't want to live near data centers,” she said.
The Ogeechee Riverkeeper and other area environmental nonprofits have been outspoken about data center development in southeast Georgia, especially the hyperscale OpenAI data center development coming to Effingham County.
In fact, Statesboro Planning and Zoning staff showed a site map of OpenAI’s Project Camellia in Effingham as an example of what the city would not allow within its city limits.
“What we’re discussing today is 0.19% of what’s happening in Effingham,” McCollar said. “We are concerned about all the issues that you are. What we thought was best was to effectively ban hyperscale data centers in our community.”
Still, the scene outside of Statesboro City Hall mirrored the anti-data center protest outside of the July 23 OpenAI open house in Effingham County.
About 100 people stood outside waving signs with messages like “Quality of life over greed” and “No support for data centers.”
And as news of the vote traveled outside to protesters, they all joined in chanting: “Vote them out.”
Lucille Lannigan is a growth and development reporter for Morris Multimedia.