DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Nearly 50 people attended a data center community forum Nov. 15 in Decatur where advocates voiced concerns about their impacts. 

South DeKalb County resident Quanda Stroud and advocates shared concerns about energy costs and the environmental and health implications associated with a proposed 1 million-square-foot data center in Ellenwood. Columbia Drive Methodist Church in Decatur provided space for the forum. 

Although the county has held several meetings to decide how to regulate data centers, Stroud and her neighbors still have questions. “I think commissioners need to listen to the community,” she said. The DeKalb County Commission will consider the ordinance at its Nov. 20 zoning meeting at 5:30 p.m.  

Despite attending a couple of town halls about the data campus, Stroud felt like the county commissioners were not adequately informed on the topic. 

“In both town hall meetings, they played a 10-year-old YouTube video on data centers,” she said.

At a virtual town hall Nov. 12, Commissioner Chakira Johnson said it’s important for the community to “have a say in how, where and when they’re (data centers) happening, and just making sure that the guidelines and best practices are in place before the development happens.”

At a virtual town hall Nov. 12, Commissioner Chakira Johnson said it’s important for the community to “have a say in how, where and when they’re (data centers) happening, and just making sure that the guidelines and best practices are in place before the development happens.”

With the rise of AI and the space needed to power it, Stroud is urging county commissioners to do their due diligence, especially since the proposed Ellenwood campus would be built in a densely populated Black community, on just a fraction of the land typically used in rural data center locations.

“They’re going to be impacting all of our lives,” she said. “But people don’t connect AI to data centers … they don’t connect the technology to the hardware, to the environment, to their homes, to their lives.”

Diana Deitz, a Fayette County resident who began her fight against data centers three years ago when Quality Technology Services proposed a campus in Fayetteville, warned attendees that “miles of high voltage lines slicing through people’s yards could be coming to a neighborhood near you.” She also cautioned residents to keep an eye on land sales, warning that a data center could expand over time. 

In December 2024 Bloomberg reported that the QTS data center power lines encroached on more than 100 properties and houses in Fayetteville, “hitting home values and crossing people’s yards.” Other Fayette County residents characterized them as “statues” because they are much larger than regular power lines.   

Deitz encouraged residents to ask their county commissioners “lots of questions about power,” and to see the bigger picture beyond the money offered by investors. Data centers are largely automated and require minimal staffing, resulting in a limited local economic impact.

Michael Moss, who lives just down the road from the Fayetteville QTS data center, shared his experience at the forum, including how he stood in front of a bulldozer to oppose a data center. As the owner of an IT consulting firm called Instinctive Solutions, Moss wants to promote smarter, more responsible tech infrastructure, but said that some tech companies are “absolutely not” sharing accurate information with the communities they want to build in. 

“These data centers allow (companies) to expand their reach … but you see a lot more negative to outweigh the positives.”

Stroud added that any business coming to the area should serve “the people, not just the powerful.”

An investigative report by WSB TV estimated that some of the massive data centers proposed for Metro Atlanta are “planning to use more water than entire Georgia towns.” 

Still, some of those details can be redacted from proposals or hidden behind Non-Disclosure Agreements, and that’s a major concern for residents like Stroud, who has lived in south DeKalb County for 20 years. She worries that the proposed Ellenwood data campus could put more pressure on an already strained water system. “When we have droughts … when the South River, the Chattahoochee, is dry, who gets water priority?”

Water and power costs aside, Stephens said a data campus in Ellenwood would be “a textbook example of an environmental health risk” in an area that “can’t afford additional respiratory burdens.” The epidemiologist says health impacts could reach up to 5 miles and hopes the county will consider conducting a comprehensive health assessment on issues such as chemical runoff seeping into the ground, toxic gas from lithium batteries in the event of a fire, sleep disruption from light pollution, and stress caused by the humming of cooling systems.

Mangham, a local attorney who has previously served as the county commission’s Chief of Staff and legislative aid in the Georgia House of Representatives, told residents that their fight begins with how the county decides to regulate data centers. A text amendment is currently under review. The DeKalb County Commission will consider the ordinance at its zoning meeting on Nov. 20 at 5:30 p.m.

Mangham, who ran for the District 5 seat in 2024, implored county commissioners to do their homework and asked how they plan to regulate these specialized systems if the Ellenwood campus is approved. “What are the penalties for noncompliance?” 

Mangham views this as a critical voting issue and encourages residents to attend all meetings and forums, and even consider voting out officials who support the Ellenwood data campus.

The public is invited to attend another community forum about data centers in DeKalb County on Nov. 18 at Stonecrest Library, located at 3123 Klondike Road in Decatur, from 6-7:45 p.m.