Data Center Ban Petition Creation
Budget: $30 – $250 USD
Dear Legal Team,
I am writing to provide the exact specifications, legal objectives, and target audience framework for the petition I would like your firm to draft.
The primary objective of this petition is to protect the constituents of Paulding County, Georgia, from the rapid, unchecked expansion of data centers and high-impact, polluting industrial developments.
Furthermore, this petition must directly address and counteract the regional pressures introduced by Paulding County’s entry into the four-county Joint Development Authority (JDA) alongside Bartow, Floyd, and Polk counties.
Please structure the legal drafting of the petition to encompass the following demands and frameworks:
1. Target Audience & Scope
Primary Target: The Paulding County Board of Commissioners. As the local legislative body, they hold the explicit authority to alter zoning ordinances, declare moratoriums, and dictate county participation in regional authorities.
The Signing Audience: Registered voters, property taxpayers, and residents of Paulding County, Georgia.
2. Immediate Data Center Moratorium & Zoning Changes
Emergency Moratorium: Demand an immediate 12-to-15 month emergency moratorium on all data center land-use approvals, development permits, and rezoning requests within unincorporated Paulding County.
Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Revision: Direct the Board of Commissioners to use the moratorium period to permanently amend the UDO. Data centers must be stripped as a permitted or conditional use in Light Industrial (I-1) and Heavy Industrial (I-2) districts, effectively creating a total ban.
3. Neutralizing the Multi-County Joint Development Authority (JDA) LoopholeBecause Paulding County is a member of the regional JDA with Bartow, Floyd, and Polk counties (Resolution 26-22), developers are using multi-county tax incentives to fast-track resource-heavy projects.
The petition must demand that the Board of Commissioners:
Amend the Charter or Withdraw: Pass a resolution stating Paulding County will formally withdraw from the JDA unless a restrictive covenant is added to the alliance charter that explicitly prohibits the JDA from marketing to, recruiting, or incentivizing data centers and high-pollution manufacturing.
Block Public Bond Financing: Forbid Paulding County’s JDA representatives from voting to approve or validate industrial revenue bonds ("phantom lease" financing) for projects that feature high utility consumption but low local job creation.
Maintain Local Zoning Supremacy: Explicitly state that no regional JDA agreement, property acquisition, or economic package can override local county zoning laws, environmental standards, or public hearing requirements.
4. Comprehensive Industrial Pollution Performance Standards
To protect constituents from all forms of polluting industrial developments beyond just data centers, please draft a blanket county ordinance framework requiring:
Strict Acoustic Caps: Continuous ambient noise from cooling chillers, HVAC units, or heavy industrial machinery must be legally capped at 55 decibels at any residential property line.
Resource and Utility Thresholds: Any proposed industrial footprint requesting more than 100,000 gallons of water per day or high-megawatt power grid allocations must automatically trigger an independent environmental impact review and a mandatory 90-day public notice period.
Anti-NDA Transparency: A local ordinance banning the county or its economic development arms from using Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to hide heavy industrial negotiations from constituents.
5. Legal Counsel Recommendations
Please treat the points above as the mandatory baseline requirements for the petition. As our legal counsel, I highly encourage you to build upon this framework. If there are other Georgia land-use statutes, environmental regulations, or local county precedents that you believe will further strengthen this petition and better protect Paulding County constituents, please proactively include them in your draft.Please use these parameters to draft a formal, legally grounded petition that safely navigates Georgia property rights laws by focusing heavily on local zoning authority, public health, and environmental resource protections.
Please let me know if you need any clarification on these points before beginning the first draft.
Sincerely,
Sarah Novak on Behalf of Preserve Paulding LLC
Link to the Technology Park Overlay District zoning
https://library.municode.com/GA/Paulding County/CODES/Code_of_Ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_APXAUNDEOR_TIT2ZO_CH220OVDI_S220-40TEPAOVDI
I am writing to provide the exact specifications, legal objectives, and target audience framework for the petition I would like your firm to draft.
The primary objective of this petition is to protect the constituents of Paulding County, Georgia, from the rapid, unchecked expansion of data centers and high-impact, polluting industrial developments.
Furthermore, this petition must directly address and counteract the regional pressures introduced by Paulding County’s entry into the four-county Joint Development Authority (JDA) alongside Bartow, Floyd, and Polk counties.
Please structure the legal drafting of the petition to encompass the following demands and frameworks:
1. Target Audience & Scope
Primary Target: The Paulding County Board of Commissioners. As the local legislative body, they hold the explicit authority to alter zoning ordinances, declare moratoriums, and dictate county participation in regional authorities.
The Signing Audience: Registered voters, property taxpayers, and residents of Paulding County, Georgia.
2. Immediate Data Center Moratorium & Zoning Changes
Emergency Moratorium: Demand an immediate 12-to-15 month emergency moratorium on all data center land-use approvals, development permits, and rezoning requests within unincorporated Paulding County.
Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Revision: Direct the Board of Commissioners to use the moratorium period to permanently amend the UDO. Data centers must be stripped as a permitted or conditional use in Light Industrial (I-1) and Heavy Industrial (I-2) districts, effectively creating a total ban.
3. Neutralizing the Multi-County Joint Development Authority (JDA) LoopholeBecause Paulding County is a member of the regional JDA with Bartow, Floyd, and Polk counties (Resolution 26-22), developers are using multi-county tax incentives to fast-track resource-heavy projects.
The petition must demand that the Board of Commissioners:
Amend the Charter or Withdraw: Pass a resolution stating Paulding County will formally withdraw from the JDA unless a restrictive covenant is added to the alliance charter that explicitly prohibits the JDA from marketing to, recruiting, or incentivizing data centers and high-pollution manufacturing.
Block Public Bond Financing: Forbid Paulding County’s JDA representatives from voting to approve or validate industrial revenue bonds ("phantom lease" financing) for projects that feature high utility consumption but low local job creation.
Maintain Local Zoning Supremacy: Explicitly state that no regional JDA agreement, property acquisition, or economic package can override local county zoning laws, environmental standards, or public hearing requirements.
4. Comprehensive Industrial Pollution Performance Standards
To protect constituents from all forms of polluting industrial developments beyond just data centers, please draft a blanket county ordinance framework requiring:
Strict Acoustic Caps: Continuous ambient noise from cooling chillers, HVAC units, or heavy industrial machinery must be legally capped at 55 decibels at any residential property line.
Resource and Utility Thresholds: Any proposed industrial footprint requesting more than 100,000 gallons of water per day or high-megawatt power grid allocations must automatically trigger an independent environmental impact review and a mandatory 90-day public notice period.
Anti-NDA Transparency: A local ordinance banning the county or its economic development arms from using Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to hide heavy industrial negotiations from constituents.
5. Legal Counsel Recommendations
Please treat the points above as the mandatory baseline requirements for the petition. As our legal counsel, I highly encourage you to build upon this framework. If there are other Georgia land-use statutes, environmental regulations, or local county precedents that you believe will further strengthen this petition and better protect Paulding County constituents, please proactively include them in your draft.Please use these parameters to draft a formal, legally grounded petition that safely navigates Georgia property rights laws by focusing heavily on local zoning authority, public health, and environmental resource protections.
Please let me know if you need any clarification on these points before beginning the first draft.
Sincerely,
Sarah Novak on Behalf of Preserve Paulding LLC
Link to the Technology Park Overlay District zoning
https://library.municode.com/GA/Paulding County/CODES/Code_of_Ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_APXAUNDEOR_TIT2ZO_CH220OVDI_S220-40TEPAOVDI