No Data Centers in Candler County.
A company has asked to build a data center campus on about 470 acres beside the Metter-Candler Airport. That means five very large buildings, along with power equipment, a well and ponds, built in stages through 2033. Our county commissioners will decide what rules it has to follow, and they should hear from the people who live here first.
A petition on Change.org asks the Georgia General Assembly to pass a statewide pause on new data center approvals in 2027, until protections for household bills, water and local communities are in place. It was started by another Georgian, Adam James, not by our group.
Where things stand · November 5, 2026
On October 5, the county commissioners voted to take a moratorium (a pause on new data centers) off their agenda. Around the same time, Canoochee River RV Resort, LLC, the owner of the land by the airport, asked the county to rezone it as a PUD so a data center campus can be built there. The paperwork is filed and the fee is paid. See what they asked for. The county also told the state it is a data center: DRI #4846.
Here is the good part: before they say yes, the commissioners can add any rules they want. Quiet at night. A water limit. Money set aside to take it down if it ever closes. The county administrator says a PUD “gives absolute authority to the Board of Commissioners to place restrictions.” So the neighbors who speak up help decide what those rules are. Here are seven to ask for.
Come and say what worries you, and ask for rules that protect us. To speak at the hearing, sign up with the County Clerk at least 7 days ahead, by Tuesday, December 1. Call 912-685-2835 or email the County Administrator at BAasheim@candlerco-ga.gov (the county lists boc@candlerco-ga.gov, but it rejected our email from outside the county). You can also write the commissioners any time: write them here. See the next meetings. The new numbers from the county.
Source: WSAV, Oct. 5 and the county’s Data Center Information Hub.
What to ask for
The company’s own drawing says it “does not limit or bind” them, so the drawing is not a promise. The only promises that count are the rules the commissioners write down when they vote.
Here is what we are asking for: that the county and the city reconsider data centers this big, and that any hearing be held in a room large enough for every neighbor to be heard, on a night with nothing else on the agenda and with extra time to speak. It takes two minutes to write them. We wrote a note you can use.
Why the name matters: the county’s tax estimates assume the company that rents these buildings will buy about $38 billion of computers over 15 years and replace them every few years. The timeline the county posted (it comes from the company) has the lease signed in September 2027. Until we know who it is, nobody can say what they will buy, what they will pay in taxes, or whether anyone’s tax bill goes down. A promise like “your taxes will drop” can’t be checked without a name. County financial review (PDF) and cost review (PDF), November 5.
Tell the commissioners: write them here. You can also write your county commissioner and your city council member.
Other places that said yes are now backing off. Atlanta banned them near the Beltline. Towns in Kentucky are pausing them, and Kentucky's governor wants to end their tax breaks. Texas's governor froze new ones until the state checks them. If it went so well, why are they backing off?
Voters are weighing in too. On November 3, people in towns in ten states voted directly on 41 data center questions. By November 4, 39 had reported unofficial results, and in 38 of them voters chose limits. All 13 questions that would have helped a project failed. See the results we can source. For help writing a noise rule, the nonprofit Quiet Communities has a free guide: datacenternoise.org.
Candler County Board of Commissioners, at the Metter College and Career Academy, 34905 GA Hwy 129 S. To speak, sign up with the County Clerk at least 7 days ahead (by December 1) by calling 912-685-2835 or emailing the County Administrator at BAasheim@candlerco-ga.gov (the county lists boc@candlerco-ga.gov, but it rejected our email from outside the county). Send written comments to the same address. If you need help getting in (ADA), tell the Clerk 7 days ahead. Speakers keep to the merits of this request. The county’s notice (PDF).
Then Monday, December 7. The commissioners meet the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month. On October 5 they took the data center moratorium off their agendas. The data center rezoning hearing is a separate hearing on December 8 (see the card above). County page and livestream.
City Hall, 49 S. Rountree St. The council's regular meeting is the 2nd Monday of each month. The final vote on the Fortner annexation has not been scheduled publicly yet. City council page.
The Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission asked for comments on the state filing for the airport data center campus (DRI #4846) through today. Thank you to everyone who wrote in. Their request (PDF).
Our regular Sunday meeting at 6762 Cypress Lake Rd, Statesboro, with guest speaker Hannah Baker, an organizer with the Sierra Club's Georgia Chapter. A neighbor-run meeting, not a government one. Neighbors from every county are welcome.
The county and city dates follow each board's regular schedule. Meetings can be moved or added, so check the official page before you go.
Sign up and we will send you meeting dates and new records as they come in, and you can add your name to a simple request that the county and Metter reconsider data centers this big. We only count the names. We never post them or share them. You can also join our Facebook group, or email us at NdcccMetter@gmail.com.
The airport site, Fortner Road and Hiawatha Street are 3 of 36 data center sites, crypto mines and local rules being tracked across Georgia. See them all on one map, with the source for each.
Open the WatchThe Map
The data center campus filed with the state wraps around the airport. The 100 acres on Fortner Road sit right across I-16 and haven't been ruled out, and the county named a third spot off Hiawatha Street in town.
Swipe sideways to see the whole map.
In the news The Current, Nov. 3: Georgia's utility commission, which regulates Georgia Power and what we pay, changes hands after the election WTOC, Oct. 6: "Candler County commissioners discuss possible data center near Metter airport" WTOC, Sept. 22: "Candler County commissioners hear public comment on data centers"
Learn more
The Sierra Club's Georgia Chapter has a page for neighbors with a toolkit and a form to reach their organizers. It is a good place to start. Below are some of their documents, shared free and posted here with credit, as they shared them. The numbers inside are theirs.
Go deeper
Everything on this site comes from a public record or a news story, and each one links to where we found it.
Who owns the land, what they filed with the state and the county, and the questions we still have.
Read more →100 acres across I-16 that Metter is bringing into the city: the plans, the power question, and the records behind it.
Read more →What happened, in order. Plus every document we got, so you can read it yourself.
Read more →