What we've asked for, what came back, what we've done, and what happened when. Every item links to the official record.
Public record · Updated September 24, 2026
PROJECT ACCOUNTABILITY
What has been approved, what records have been requested, and what decision still remains.
Records and regulatory tracker
Georgia EPDAir, water, environmental, and agency-correspondence records · submitted August 31, 2026
Partial response
Georgia EPD District OfficesReported "no potentially responsive records" on August 31. This applies only to the District Offices sub-request.
Response received
Watershed Protection BranchReported no responsive records on August 31, 2026 (W2026-3003)
Response received
Land Protection BranchReported no responsive records on September 9, 2026 (L2026-3150)
Response received
Air Protection BranchRequest received; still searching files as of September 3, 2026 (A2026-2690)
Awaiting response
U.S. Army Corps of EngineersReported no responsive records on September 29, 2026: no wetland delineation, jurisdictional determination, pre-application, or permit records for the site, developer, engineer, or principals (FOIA submitted August 31, 2026)
Response received
City of StatesboroTwo project-related open-records requests · submitted August 31, 2026
Partial response
An agency report that it located no responsive records is not proof that no permit, application, or review will later be required. Request numbers, security keys, private tracking links, and requester contact details are not published.
Next public decision
No Special Use Permit hearing date has been publicly posted as of September 14, 2026.
A Special Use Permit application for a data center at this address, Case No. SU-26-07-06, filed by 4AM Development, LLC, was received by the City Planning Department on July 10, 2026, the same day as the rezoning application. The application does not identify a specific facility operator. City officials have since stated that a Special Use Permit "with a specified end user" has not been processed; the existence of this case number has not otherwise been publicly disclosed.
The August rezoning changed the parcel's zoning. It did not grant final approval for a data center. Ordinance 2026-01 still requires a separate Special Use Permit, public hearing, and affirmative Council vote.
What has been sent, filed, or asked, beyond the records requests above.
Georgia Public Service CommissionRequested Commission review of the applicant's 99 MW power request against the Commission's 100 MW large-load review threshold (Docket No. 55378) · submitted September 24, 2026. The Electric Unit Director responded September 29: staff see contracts under 100 MW only after they're signed, under trade secret rules, and our request was shared with Commissioners.
Response received
City Attorney, City of StatesboroAsked in writing whether the City's 2026 rezoning ordinance can be repealed by citizen referendum petition under Georgia's Home Rule statute, O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3 · asked September 21, 2026, responded the same day
Declined to advise
Georgia Secretary of State, Elections DivisionAsked for guidance on whether a City rezoning ordinance is eligible for repeal by citizen referendum under O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3, since the City Attorney could not advise on that point · submitted September 24, 2026. Responded September 28 that this "is a matter of legal research for which we are unable to provide specific guidance."
Declined to advise
U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael WarnockAsked both offices to help organize a bipartisan, statewide rally or summit calling for a Georgia data center moratorium, citing similar fights in Bulloch, Candler, Columbia, and Effingham counties · submitted September 24, 2026
Submitted, awaiting response
U.S. Senator Raphael WarnockInvited the Senator to visit Statesboro after the November election to see the Burkhalter Road site and meet residents from Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, and surrounding counties · submitted September 29, 2026
Submitted, awaiting response
Ogeechee RiverkeeperRequested advocacy support and guidance on the project's water demand and its cumulative effect on the Floridan aquifer · submitted September 24, 2026. Riverkeeper staff responded September 28 and are in ongoing contact with us.
In contact
The City Attorney's office responded that it can provide legal advice only to the Mayor and Council, not to residents, and confirmed that state law (O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3) controls this process because no City Charter or Code provision addresses it separately. The response did not address whether this specific rezoning ordinance is eligible for repeal by referendum.
Advocacy and outreach actions last checked: .
Approval and ordinance timeline
General ordinance development is separate from approval of this parcel.
Earlier development of the ordinance
January 22 and February 17, 2026: Council's earlier work included visits to Atlanta-area edge data centers and direction to staff to develop a local regulatory framework. The later May 19 Council minutes describe the multi-month process and site visits.
Special Use Permit application on file, incomplete
An application (Case No. SU-26-07-06) was filed July 10, 2026, but does not name a facility operator. Final project approval has not been granted.
How the City's findings changed: 2024–2026
The same Burkhalter parcel was reviewed first for housing and later for a data center.
2024
Residential annexation and rezoning
Applications AN 23-11-05 and RZ 23-11-06
County R-40 to City R-4 high-density residential
Detached "cottage court" concept publicly described as approximately 87 homes
Planning Commission recommendation: 7–0 on January 3
Council approval: January 16
2026
Office rezoning for a data-center proposal
Application RZ 26-07-05
R-4 residential to O office and business
Approximately 230,000-square-foot, two-story data center, substation, and detention pond
Planning Commission recommendation: 5–1
Council approval: 3–2; Special Use Permit still required
What the 2026 staff report acknowledged
The Comprehensive Plan classifies the area as a "Developing Neighborhood," described as primarily low- and medium-density residential.
Residential uses lie north, northwest, west, south, and southeast of the parcel.
The property retained a reasonable economic use under R-4, and staff identified no changing conditions affecting development.
Future development patterns might be interrupted by the data-center use.
What the Report Concluded, and What It Left Out
City staff decided the rezoning was fine and wouldn't hurt nearby homes.
Their traffic conclusion rests on a claim, not a new study: that running a data center would create a lot less traffic than the roughly 87 homes originally planned for the site.
The report didn't include an updated traffic study for the data center, or updated grades for how backed-up nearby intersections would get.
87 versus 285 units: The 2024 public proposal described approximately 87 cottage-style homes. During the 2026 process, project advocates referenced as many as 285 units under R-4. The public records reviewed here do not establish that a 285-unit site plan was approved; the figures appear to describe an earlier development concept versus claimed zoning capacity. City materials also describe the parcel as approximately 26.5 to 26.9 acres, so this page treats the acreage as approximate rather than resolving that discrepancy.
Residential-buildout projections for the broader Burkhalter–Cawana corridor, not a 2026 data-center traffic study.
The City projected as many as 1,342 housing units across eight developments in the broader growth corridor.
F · 87 sec.GA 67/Fair Road at Burkhalter, existing condition
F · 202 sec.Projected residential buildout without improvements
D · 40 sec.Projected with identified turn-lane improvements
C → F → BCawana at Burkhalter: current, no-build-improvements, then roundabout
Communities in the corridor
Immediate neighbors: Cottage Row and Aspen Heights.
Broader growth and traffic corridor: The Outpost, Holly Oaks, Cawana Row, Cawana Bend, S&S Townhomes, and established homes along Burkhalter and Cawana roads.
These values summarize developer traffic studies and the City's June 2025 corridor planning for projected residential buildout. They should not be read as a traffic analysis of the proposed data center. The only traffic study on file for this parcel (dated August 15, 2024) analyzes a 1,041-unit residential concept that has since been abandoned; it contains no mention of a data center anywhere in the document. The applicant has stated no data-center-specific traffic study has been performed.