A vote on new data center regulations in DeKalb County has been postponed to Dec.16 after a heated zoning meeting Thursday where residents shouted grievances, demanded answers, and some were removed from the chamber.
The deferral underscores the growing frustration of South DeKalb communities — particularly Black neighborhoods like Ellenwood, where a large-scale data center is being proposed — who say the county has ignored their health, infrastructure, and environmental concerns.
The meeting, held at Stonecrest Library, erupted as residents criticized the proposed zoning text amendment that would formally define and regulate data centers in the county. Many said the rules still allow massive facilities dangerously close to homes, schools, and other sensitive sites.
The proposed amendment, posted on the county’s Engage DeKalb portal, would define data centers, restrict where they can be built, and set rules around noise, energy use, water demand, and distance from homes. County officials said during the meeting that the amendment introduces protections that didn’t exist before.
“I would say, judging by the community members here, DeKalb residents do not want data centers here in DeKalb,” one woman told commissioners during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“We want full transparency. We want a seat at a table, and we want these facilities kept away from our residential neighborhoods,” another resident said.
As tensions escalated, security escorted several people out, and commissioners opted to postpone the vote to next month.
But residents like Ngaya Swai of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which protested the amendment outside the building ahead of the meeting, called the process “undemocratic,” saying commissioners have repeatedly ignored public input in favor of industry priorities.
For Ellenwood resident Jackie Malcolm, the issue goes far beyond zoning. At 61, she has lived in the area for more than 32 years, and she described the community as already overburdened with pollution, failing infrastructure, and health crises.
“Every time we turn around, it’s something different,” Malcolm told Capital B Atlanta.
Malcolm highlighted a host of environmental hazards surrounding her neighborhood: landfills, airplane traffic overhead, and other industrial operations. She said residents are already dealing with high rates of blood pressure and strokes.
“Everything that comes into our community is something that nobody on the north side wants. … Enough is enough. We’re tired. Our health comes first,” she said.
Residents also fear that DeKalb’s aging water system cannot handle a water-hungry data campus.
Malcolm cited the county’s recent decade-long rate increase, which mandates 10% annual increases in water bills for the next 10 years to fund repairs. She questioned what would happen to their bills and water infrastructure if a data center drew hundreds of millions of gallons of water annually.
Energy use is also a concern, as data centers demand massive electricity loads that could strain the local and statewide grid. Residents worry the county simply isn’t prepared for this kind of industrial pressure.
Advocacy groups, including Renew DeKalb, are calling for a full rejection of the zoning amendment and a ban on data campuses near residential areas. Residents say the county has prioritized corporate profit over the lives and health of Black and brown communities.
“It’s environmental injustice,” Malcom said. “It’s about the money. That’s what it boils down to. We don’t want to see this happening because it will devastate our community.”
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