A Union City town hall to address residents’ concerns about data centers is being rescheduled, according to the city. A statement said that officials expected a crowd that would be too large for The Union City Gathering Place, where the event was to be held.
The event was scheduled for Thursday, but residents will still have an opportunity to raise questions and learn more about data centers this week.
Activist Wanda Mosely will hold her second community discussion on data centers on Tuesday in nearby Fairburn. Her discussion will take place from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the clubhouse in the South Wind community, 5018 Rosewood Plantation.
“I’m very disappointed that elected officials in Union City would squander an opportunity to answer questions,” Mosely said of Union City postponing its town hall.
Mosely said residents in the south metro area are most concerned about the number of data centers in the region.
“Residents don’t know what the impact will be,” she said.
Mosely referred to a Union City council meeting held two weeks ago in which numerous residents objected to a proposal that would add data centers as a condition used in the office industrial zoning district.
Council members approved the conditional use zoning in a split vote, and residents received no answers to their concerns.
Union City already allows data centers in other districts, including Microsoft’s 2.1 million square foot data center project.
During that February meeting, Councilwomen Angelette Mealing and Lawanna Owens-Twaites commented on the environmental problems that the technology facilities might bring.
“There is a humming noise, and if you [live] around these data centers, you’re going to hear it,” Mealing said. “… There will be some kind of environmental impact… I don’t want to live around it.”
Mealing described Union City as “the capital of warehouses” and worried that the city’s limited available space would be absorbed by data center projects.
Owens-Twaites warned about the “vast amount of power” that data centers use and said they use “450 gallons of water per day,” comparing it to irrigating “17 acres of turf lawn.”
Young professionals who commented during the meeting also said that they want walkable mixed-use communities similar to north metro cities.
Union City Councilwoman Christina Hobbs, who voted in favor of the conditional use measure, said the city can have conditions and requirements on the structures so that they are built to look aesthetically pleasing.
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