Update to an earlier report: This article includes new information about a story we previously covered. Read our earlier report.
Statesboro is asking Bulloch County Superior Court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the rezoning of a Burkhalter Road property for a proposed data center. The city argues the case is premature because the project still needs a special-use permit.
City Attorney Cain Smith filed the city’s response on Oct. 19; the court stamped it Oct. 21. The answer says Coastal Communities United and 11 individual petitioners lack standing and that their claims are not ripe. Those are the city’s arguments, not a court ruling.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 17, challenges the City Council’s Aug. 18 decision to rezone 27 acres from R-4 high-density residential to O, or office. The 3-2 vote was decided by the mayor’s tie-breaking vote.
The proposed project is a 230,000-square-foot data center at 6539 Burkhalter Road. Developers Bobby Bagwell and Charles C. Way have applied to Georgia Power for up to 99 megawatts. The zoning change does not itself authorize the facility; a special-use permit is also required.
Smith said the city will continue to hold off on processing any application while the lawsuit proceeds. As of Monday, the court database showed the city’s answer but no scheduling orders. Smith said he had no update on a hearing.
Yolonda Harris
News Now Georgia
