PETITION TO SUMTER COUNTY AND THE CITY OF AMERICUS
Adopt the 18-month data center moratorium
Pause data center zoning and permitting in the county and the city for 18 months, until both have an ordinance.
We, the undersigned residents of Americus and Sumter County, ask the Sumter County Board of Commissioners and the Mayor and City Council of the City of Americus each to adopt the joint resolution now in draft before them: an 18-month temporary moratorium on the zoning, rezoning, development, permitting and construction of data centers within their respective jurisdictions.
The joint resolution requires separate approval from both governments: the county for unincorporated Sumter County and the city for Americus. A data center permitted on either side of that boundary would use the same water, roads and power system. Each signature will be presented to both governments.
Neither the State of Georgia, Sumter County, nor the City of Americus has any ordinance governing where data centers may be sited or how they must operate. Neither code of ordinances defines the term at all. Until they do, any application that arrives has to be judged under a zoning code written for something else.
The draft resolution would pause data center zoning, permitting and construction for 18 months from the date of adoption. During that period, the planning and zoning staff, City Council, Board of Commissioners and outside experts would study the effects and draft ordinance amendments.
We ask our elected officials to complete that work before deciding an application.