09/14/2026
The AI boom isn’t just happening online.
It needs land. A lot of power. Cooling systems. Backup generators. And very large buildings somewhere in the real world.
Now Cobb County is trying to decide where those buildings should go before a major data center proposal lands in unincorporated Cobb.
The county currently has a moratorium on new data center applications while it works through proposed zoning rules.
Those rules would address things like site size, power generation, noise, water cooling, lighting and building height.
And I actually think Cobb is approaching this the right way.
I’m not against data centers.
Metro Atlanta is going to keep seeing more AI infrastructure and cloud-computing investment whether we like it or not. That can mean economic development and additional tax revenue.
But these aren’t normal commercial buildings.
They can use enormous amounts of electricity, require substantial cooling infrastructure, generate noise from equipment and backup generators, and completely change the character of a large piece of land.
So the conversation shouldn’t be:
**“Do we ban data centers?”**
It should be:
**“Where do they actually belong?”**
Because the worst time to figure out how you feel about a 20- or 30-acre data center is after someone submits plans for one near your neighborhood.
Cobb’s first zoning hearing on the proposed rules is scheduled for **October 6**, with a potential vote later in the month.
And here’s the question I really want to know:
**If a data center got built near your neighborhood, would you move?**
Yes or no?
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