By: Rut Labrada, Arts & Entertainment Editor

The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners announced at a regular meeting on Oct. 27 that an ordinance draft will be released Nov. 2 following the ending of the 60-day moratorium on applications to build artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

Many Lowndes residents still feel skeptical, however, and the issue has continued to incite debate.

The ordinance will outline where and how a data center could be built in Lowndes County, give any restrictions deemed necessary on noise and light pollution in the surrounding area, and establish buffer zones for the protection of nearby residents.

After the board releases the draft on Monday, residents will have eight days to read over the ordinance and form their opinions. On Nov. 10, the board’s only meeting for the month of November, board members will be accepting feedback from residents on the draft.

Finally, on Dec. 8, the board of commissioners will host their final meeting for the year and vote for or against the data-center ordinance.

The debate is an important one for Lowndes Citizens Against Data Centers (LCAD), a local activist group that has been in opposition to data centers since December 2025.

Residents first discovered plans to bring an AI data center in July 2025, after a plot of land near the Foxborough subdivision was rezoned for light industrial use.

One major concern for LCAD is that the board has not been transparent in their dealings with the potential AI data center that may come to Lowndes County.

LCAD has requested that commissioners work directly with Lowndes residents to create ordinances that will satisfy residents, both those who live in the Foxborough area, where the data center is to be built, and for other Lowndes residents who do not wish to have a data center in the general area.

“There are so many questions and so little answers so far, in part because we may not have the answers, but also in part because there is a political culture of secrecy in Lowndes County when it comes to the government,” said Michael Noll, LCAD organizer and former VSU professor.

To some members of the board of commissioners, as well as to other local leaders, building an AI data center is an important opportunity that will create more jobs in Lowndes County and increase local revenue.

Earlier this month, City of Valdosta mayor Scott Matheson told student journalists that, if the data center were to be built, he would primarily be concerned with making sure that the city has the capacity for such a structure and helping to bring it in or out of the city as needed.

“I would be all for it. I am not afraid of what they’d do if we do our legwork and do it right. Best of luck to the county. I have full confidence in them; I really do. They have traveled long and far, visiting, and I think they’re going to come up with something special,” he said, referring to the county’s ordinance.

To the members of LCAD and other residents, a data center would bring a nightmarish scenario, causing sound and light pollution and decreasing the property values of homes in the nearby area.

“Many people in Valdosta, including myself, want the commissioners to take a real stance against data centers because of the proven harm it will do to our communities,” said Noelle Lundy, VSU mass media major.

AI data centers have been a controversial topic all over the US for the past couple years, as the AI boom has caused a sharp increase in the number of data centers being built, especially in rural areas.

According to the Associated Press, “The explosion of artificial intelligence chatbots has resulted in data centers that are bigger than anything just about any town has ever seen. Some of them dwarf football stadiums and factories and consume more energy than small cities.”