Marietta City Council is asked Monday to advertise zoning code changes for data centers, the first public step toward rules to follow the moratorium that ends Dec. 31.
Marietta is starting the formal process of writing zoning rules for data centers. The City Council is asked at its 5:15 p.m. work session Monday, Oct. 12, to let staff advertise changes to the city’s zoning ordinance “regarding data centers.”
The item is on the work session agenda as file 20260954. It names three parts of the Marietta Zoning Ordinance:
- Section 708.27, the Heavy Industrial district
- Section 712.01, special land use permits
- Section 724.02, the definitions of terms
The agenda does not include the draft wording, and the city had not posted it by Monday. The motion asks only for permission to advertise the changes. Advertising is the notice step before a zoning change can go to a public hearing and a vote.
Why now: the moratorium ends Dec. 31
The city stopped taking new data center applications this summer to give staff time to write rules. At its July 6 work session, the council backed a stay on future data center developments until Dec. 31, 2026, “to allow staff time to research and draft proposed regulations.” The vote was 6-1, with council member Joseph Goldstein against, according to the July 6 minutes.
Two days later the full council adopted Resolution 2026-1765, a temporary moratorium on “the Acceptance of Rezoning and Permit Applications for New Data Centers in the City of Marietta.” It passed 7-0 on the consent agenda, the July 8 minutes show.
Since then the work has moved through committee. On Aug. 10 the council sent Georgia Tech’s response “regarding assistance with creating a Data Center Ordinance” to its Judicial/Legislative Committee, 7-0, according to the Aug. 10 minutes. That committee discussed “the development of an ordinance to address data center zoning applications” on Aug. 25 and kept it in committee, the Aug. 25 minutes say.
The one data center the city has approved
The moratorium did not stop a case already in front of the council. On Aug. 12 the council approved a rezoning for 1155 Powers Ferry Place, in Ward 7. It lets Prime Storage Powers Ferry Place Marietta LLC convert part of an existing concrete building on the 10.73-acre site into a “data infrastructure facility.” The vote was 5-2, with council members Cheryl Richardson and Daniel Gaddis against, according to the Aug. 12 minutes.
The council attached 15 conditions. They include:
- the data center may use less than half the floor area of the largest building on the site
- noise capped at 56 dBA and 77 dBC at all times, with no exception for emergencies
- continuous sound monitoring reported to city staff, and an independent sound study within three months of the equipment going in
- propylene glycol as the only cooling system additive, with leak detection and automatic shutoff valves, and cooling wastewater taken off-site for treatment
- limits on heat rise, including no more than 1 degree from 100 to 300 feet away
- no conversion of other storage or commercial sites in the city, including 155 Heathersett Drive and 45 Whitlock Place, into data centers
The Planning Commission had recommended approval 4-3. The council first heard the case July 8 and tabled it, 7-0, after 10 people spoke at the hearing, the July 8 minutes show.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes Monday. A vote to advertise starts the clock on public notice. The rules themselves still need a public hearing and a council vote.
- Want a say? Watch for the hearing notice on the city’s Agenda Center and in our public notices roundup. Residents can also speak in the unscheduled appearances slot at a regular council meeting, five minutes each.
- No new applications until Dec. 31. The moratorium still stands.
- Live near a proposed site? Zoning cases and how to follow them are on our building permits and zoning page.
Also on Monday’s work session agenda
The same agenda lists:
- council member Cheryl Richardson’s request to consider funding wreaths at the Marietta National Cemetery
- the reappointment of Brenda McCrae to the Planning Commission for Ward 5, a three-year term to Oct. 10, 2029
- council member Byron “Tee” Anderson’s request for approval of the preliminary plat for the Roselane development on Jordan and Burnap streets, the same site as the sidewalk waiver request on Wednesday’s agenda
The council’s regular meeting is 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 205 Lawrence St. Its draft agenda also lists:
- a public hearing on three speed tables for North Hillcrest Drive, from Whitlock Drive to South Hillcrest Drive, estimated at $4,500
- the police department’s acceptance of a $27,006 Byrne Memorial Grant
- city sanctioning for the Cherokee Heights Arts Festival on Saturday, Oct. 17, allowing beer and wine sales on Freyer Drive between Chicasaw Drive and Etowah Drive from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Who represents you is on our who to call at City Hall page.
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