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This is the document that we will be asking Columbus City Council to adopt as a precondition to any Overlay or Development Agreement. We believe that it is foundational and should underlie any other provisions or ordinances regarding data center developments.
Columbus & Muscogee County, Georgia · June 2026
A Declaration of Protections
For Communities Facing Hyperscale Data Center Development
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We, the residents of Columbus and Muscogee County, affirm that no hyperscale data center development shall proceed in our community without the following protections in place — established in advance, binding in law, and non-negotiable with any developer, regardless of size, resources, or influence.
Upon adoption by the Columbus City Council, the preamble above shall read: We, the duly elected Council of Columbus, Georgia, representing the citizens of Columbus and Muscogee County, hereby establish that no hyperscale data center development shall proceed within our jurisdiction without the following protections in place — established in advance, binding in law, and non-negotiable with any developer, regardless of size, resources, or influence.
These are not requests. They are conditions.
Protection I
The Right to Guaranteed Revenue
Our community shall not bear the financial risk of global markets on behalf of a private corporation.
Any developer must guarantee, in writing and in advance, a minimum annual payment to Columbus that does not vary with chip prices, hardware depreciation, or semiconductor market conditions. The projected tax benefits must have a legal floor — not a projection, not a hope, but a binding contractual commitment. If the developer cannot guarantee a minimum, they cannot claim a projected maximum.
Protection II
The Right to a Clean Exit
Our community shall not be left to clean up after a corporation that walks away.
Before any land is disturbed, any developer must post a reclamation bond — held by Columbus, sized by an independent engineer — sufficient to fully demolish every building, remove every piece of equipment, and restore every acre of the site. This bond must remain in place for the full duration of operations and five years after they end. A corporation unwilling to guarantee its own cleanup has no business breaking ground.
Protection III
The Right to Clean Water
Our community’s water supply shall not be put at risk by industrial chemistry.
No data center in Columbus shall use any cooling fluid containing PFAS, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or any compound on the EPA’s PFAS list of concern. Every cooling fluid must be identified by trade name and chemical composition before a building permit is issued — not after the facility is operating and discharging. Columbus Water Works is currently spending $200 million to remove PFAS from our drinking water. We will not add to that burden.
Protection IV
The Right to Peaceful Use of Your Home
Our neighbors shall not be subjected to industrial noise in residential communities.
The low-frequency vibration produced by hyperscale data centers passes through walls, windows, and sound barriers. Distance is the only mitigation that reliably works. No data center building, generator, cooling equipment, or electrical substation shall be placed within 500 feet of any residential property line on the outer boundary of the development parcel. This is not a suggestion. It is a line that shall not be crossed.
Protection V
The Right to Know What Is Coming
Our community shall not approve Phase 1 without knowing what Phases 2 through 6 look like.
Before any development is approved, the developer must submit a Master Site Plan for the entire ownership parcel — showing every building contemplated, total power demand, total water demand, and the intended use of every remaining acre. A binding site-wide megawatt cap shall be recorded as a deed restriction on the entire parcel. That cap cannot be raised without a full new public rezoning. What Columbus approves, Columbus shall have fully seen.
Protection VI
The Right to a Fair Negotiation
Our community shall not negotiate alone against a Fortune 500 legal team.
Columbus shall not enter Development Agreement negotiations without independent outside legal counsel retained specifically for that purpose — funded by the developer, loyal only to Columbus. This is standard practice in major industrial agreements everywhere. It shall be standard practice here. Non-negotiable means established before they arrive at the table — not subject to compromise once they do.