Bloomingdale considering data center moratorium

_{Featured photo: Data Center/US Dept. of Energy}

Aug. 19, 2026 – The Bloomingdale City Council will consider on Thursday a six-month moratorium on new or expanded data centers to give the city time to study and potentially adopt regulations governing the facilities.

The proposed moratorium would run through Feb. 16, 2027, and would halt the acceptance, approval or denial of applications for rezonings, special land-use permits, land-disturbance permits, building permits, business licenses and certificates of occupancy related to data centers. The resolution says the city wants to examine potential impacts on residents and businesses, including protecting access to power and water supplies.

The proposal comes following the recent announcement of OpenAI’s plans for “Project Camellia,” a roughly 1,400-acre data center campus at the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub in neighboring Effingham County. OpenAI says the project would represent at least a $20 billion investment and require 3.2 gigawatts of power from Georgia Power, delivered in phases between 2028 and 2032, as reported by The Current.

The proposed moratorium comes amid heightened public scrutiny of the environmental and infrastructure impacts associated with data centers. Bloomingdale’s resolution would be the second such moratorium adopted by a municipality in Chatham County, following Garden City’s adoption of a six-month moratorium in June.

Port Wentworth adopted an ordinance in December establishing development restrictions and requirements on data centers, though some residents have continued pressing city leaders to impose a moratorium.

Meanwhile, Tybee Island City Manager Bret Bell said during a workshop last week that Tybee staff has been meeting with planners from other Chatham County jurisdictions because “everyone is scrambling with data centers right now.” Bell said municipalities were sharing draft ordinances and information about “companies that are kind of poking around and are putting proposals,” while adding that Tybee was probably the least likely place in the county for a major data center.

Bell’s comments came after council member Kathryn Williams asked whether the city should pursue an ordinance aimed at keeping large data centers off Tybee. Staff said data centers could not simply be banned outright, but the land development code could potentially be amended with zoning, lot-size, setback or other requirements that would make them difficult to locate on the island.

Check out Bloomindale’s full meeting agenda and see who else is meeting at Meeting Agendas Archives – Savannah Agenda.

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