Residents urge Camden commissioners to extend data center moratorium ahead of Oct. 27 work session

Several residents asked the Camden County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to extend the county's moratorium on data centers as commissioners prepare to take up a proposed data center ordinance.

During the calendar report, commissioners were reminded that the board will hold a work session at 6 p.m. Oct. 27 to discuss the data center ordinance. In response to a resident's question, a commissioner said the moratorium and the data center would be on the agenda for the board's Nov. 3 meeting.

One speaker, who said she runs a Facebook group opposing data centers in Camden County, said the proposed development covers about 700 acres, which she said is about three and a half times Georgia's 200-acre threshold for a regional impact review of such facilities. She said the commander of Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay had raised concerns about the project's water demand, the electrical grid and the base's operations and had asked that further action be postponed. She said the moratorium is set to expire Nov. 5 and asked the board to extend it for at least a year or ban data centers in the county.

Another speaker questioned whether the proposed ordinance defines what is meant by data and asked commissioners to extend the moratorium so a plan can be put in place. A third said he is not opposed to data centers or other industry but wants rules, codes and ordinances specific to Camden County and the coastal region in place before the moratorium ends.