How Paulding County Made Room for Data Centers Without Requiring a Rezoning Sign
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
"I think this will be a positive move for both us and anybody that might want to come here in the future with the data center for us to get our code together," Post 3 Commissioner Virginia Galloway said on July 28, 2026, as FOX 5 Atlanta reported. That night the Paulding County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to stop accepting new data-center applications, zoning requests, and civil plan reviews until January 1, 2027.
The vote got the headlines. For anyone weighing a home in Paulding, the bigger story is the path the land took before the vote. Data centers became an allowed use on designated acreage through a county text amendment, and Paulding's own rules don't require rezoning signs on the property when the county starts the change. The pause covers new filings. It does not erase the overlay.
Most buyers know one warning sign for future development: a white rezoning sign at the edge of a field. In Paulding, that sign belongs to one kind of change only.
Paulding County's zoning ordinance requires a Planning Commission public hearing before the Board acts on an amendment, with a legal notice published in a newspaper of general circulation 30 to 45 days before the hearing. The ordinance requires rezoning signs on the property only when someone other than the local government starts the rezoning, according to a chronology published by the local site Paulding County Uncensored that draws on the county's ordinance. The county names the Dallas New Era as its legal organ for government notices.
| Rezoning started by a property owner or developer | Change started by the county, such as the Technology Park Overlay | |
|---|---|---|
| Planning Commission public hearing | Required | Required |
| Newspaper legal notice, 30 to 45 days ahead | Required | Required |
| Rezoning signs posted on the land | Required | Not required under the ordinance |
| Where a nearby owner is most likely to see it | On the roadside | In the Dallas New Era and county agendas |
That gap explains much of what happened next. As the same chronology puts it, the county can meet its minimum legal notice requirement without creating broad public awareness. FOX 5 reported that the technology park overlay districts were created through text amendments to the existing code, without the standard property rezoning process.
The rules for this land changed three times over seven months. Here is the sequence from the county's ordinance history and its meeting agendas.
FOX 5 described four overlay districts, including one near Bethel Church Road and Highway 92, which locals also call Hiram-Douglasville Highway. The exact list of parcels in all four districts sits in the UDO itself, in Section 220-40.
Because the acreage rose and then fell, a parcel's status a year ago doesn't tell you its status now. An owner who checked the overlay map in December 2025 saw a different footprint from the one adopted in April 2026.
The moratorium is narrower than the applause in the room might suggest. Here is how it lines up, based on FOX 5's coverage of the July 28 vote.
Paused until January 1, 2027:
Not touched by the vote:
The county's stated purpose for the pause is to overhaul its land-use codes and study safety guidelines for large technology facilities. That means the rules a data center would face after January 1, 2027 are being written now. Homeowner Savannah Padgett told commissioners that "six months is not enough time" to catch up on data-center safety, FOX 5 reported.
On June 24, 2026, Commission Chair Tim Estes told WSB Radio there were no new data-center applications before the commission. He also said, "They'll know all of the stuff when we know all of the stuff." That statement came five weeks before the moratorium vote.
None of this means a data center can break ground on overlay land tomorrow. Under the county's ordinance, a data center in the district still needs construction plan review, county verification that the requirements are met, compliance with fire, building, state, and federal rules, and a Development of Regional Impact review when one applies. Section 220-40.01 also covers water availability, electrical capacity, setbacks, buffers, noise, screening, security, and backup power.
What the overlay did change is the starting point. As the Uncensored chronology says, creating it "changed what could potentially be developed on the designated property." The fight over the summer was about that starting point. Residents who spoke to FOX 5 named electricity bills, constant noise, and environmental damage as their concerns. Resident Kimberly Savage pointed to the electrical capacity these facilities need and their water use, which depends on the cooling system.
The most recent public record is the Board of Commissioners' October 13, 2026 work session. Its posted agenda lists four residents signed up to speak on data centers during non-agenda public comment. Neither the work-session agenda nor the regular Board agenda that day lists a draft data-center ordinance, a moratorium extension, or a proposal to repeal the overlay.
As of this Thursday, the moratorium has about ten weeks left. Commissioner Galloway also told the July 28 meeting that a dedicated email address would be set up for residents to send in research and studies.
For a buyer, the practical point is that Paulding has more than one way to change what nearby land can hold. A rezoning case has a sign. An overlay or text amendment shows up in the UDO, on the agendas, and in the legal organ. This post reports on how the county's rules work and is general information, not legal advice. If a specific parcel or zoning question matters to your purchase, confirm it with the county's planning staff or a real estate attorney.
Have there been new data-center applications in Paulding County? On June 24, 2026, Chair Tim Estes told WSB Radio there were no new data-center applications before the commission. The October 13, 2026 agendas show no data-center action item.
Does the moratorium automatically end on January 1, 2027? That is the end date the Board adopted on July 28, 2026. As of the October 13, 2026 agendas, no extension was listed.
How big is the overlay today? About 995 acres under Ordinance 26-02, adopted April 14, 2026, down from about 1,314 acres after the December 2025 expansion.
If you're looking at homes in Paulding and want to know how the overlay, the agendas, and the zoning on nearby land fit into your search, I'm glad to walk through it with you before you write an offer. Clay Thomas works with buyers and sellers across Paulding County, and checking what can change around a home is part of the work. Let's Connect.
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