Hogansville Residents Protest Data Centers

The first scheduled Hogansville City Council meeting for July was replaced by a Public Hearing to hear citizen comments about the proposed new amendments for the new Unified Development Ordinance. The new UDO concerns the creation and establishment of a Heavy Industrial zoning district in the city to specifically deal with data centers. Prior to the public hearing, at a work session for the council, changes were discussed for the fifth draft of the UDO amendments, which was available for audience members. After changes are made, for the sixth draft, it will go back to the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 16th. Another public hearing and the first reading of the finished draft is scheduled for August 3rd. A second reading of the final draft is tentatively scheduled for August 17th. 

     Held at the Royal Theater, close to 200 people were in attendance for the public hearing and seventeen chose to speak, all against a data center being built in Hogansville. The first, Cheryl Kelly, originally from Indiana, wanted to know how much utility bills would increase because they rose between $500 and $600 when one was built near her home there. Paula Darden of 701 East Main Street stated the developers should be required to state how much power they will need to operate a data center, which the UDO doesn’t require. Ila Burdette of Maple Street, agreed with Darden ,saying the draft has dangerous holes in it, among them not requiring data centers to state how much power will be used. 

     Several of the speakers live very near the proposed data center site, on Hightower Road and nearby Mobley Bridge Road. Cody Pringle, one of the owners of Georgia Untamed Zoo, became emotional speaking about the impact the center would have on the 200 animals less than a mile away. His wife, Lauren, finished speaking for him about the animals, some of which are found nowhere else in Georgia. Debi Dorrough of 634 Hightower Road, said her farm is directly across the road from the proposed site and worries about the impact on her horses. She gives riding lessons and wants a study done to see what impact data centers have on horses and other animals. Will Payton, who owns a cattle ranch on Hightower, appealed to the council to “be heroes to our citizens” by not selling them out for data center money. Travis Turner of 1994 Mobley Bridge Road spoke of the wetlands around Flat Creek, which crosses Hightower Road, and the impact a center would have on wildlife. He recently posted videos on facebook of ospreys, which he says have nested on the property for ten years. He also stated bald eagles are common to the site. 

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     Dorothy Cameron of 224 Lee Street stated she is not against progress but is afraid a data center will upset the peace and quiet for seniors in Hogansville. Karen Hamlin of High Street asked the council to ban data centers so they can’t be built here. Caleb Stanley spoke about the UDO not being as strong as what is required by Troup County regarding setback from homes. All of the speakers received ovations, several of them standing ovations, but none as loud as the one for Stacy Smith. 

     Smith, of 1129 Hightower Road, told of the problems caused after carpet plants in Dalton were given free reign years ago, leading to incredibly high chemical levels in area rivers. She doesn’t want Hogansville to find out in the future-too late- what a bad idea data centers were. She then read from the Hogansville Comprehensive Plan, which is a roadmap for future plans for the city. She read about how the plan talks about protecting and conserving natural resources and water supplies and promoting tree space. She ended by asking the council to “stick to their plan”. No doubt, the public hearing scheduled for August 3rd will be well attended by Hogansville residents.