Harris, Talbot and Muscogee counties meet near the site of the proposed Project Ruby data center. Harris County holds a hearing Nov. 17, Talbot County holds hearings Nov. 23 and Dec. 7, and the Columbus overlay trial begins Dec. 14.
The short version
- Harris County, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m.: second and final public hearing on a comprehensive plan amendment that would mark about 3,840 acres in three areas for future industrial use. One area, south of GA-315 on Ridgeway Road, borders Talbot and Muscogee counties.
- Talbot County Planning Commission, Monday, Nov. 23, 6 p.m.: public hearing on data center zoning, the county’s second try after a judge voided its July amendment.
- Talbot County Board of Commissioners, Monday, Dec. 7, 10 a.m.: public hearing on the same amendment.
- Muscogee County Superior Court, Monday, Dec. 14: bench trial in the Upatoi neighbors’ suit against Columbus over the Technology Overlay.
- The River Valley Regional Commission, the area’s regional planning agency, has a role in both the Harris and Talbot processes.
COLUMBUS, Ga. — The corner where Harris, Talbot and Muscogee counties meet is rural, forested and largely undeveloped, as 706report has reported in its Project Ruby series. Each of the three counties has a public hearing or trial on land use in the next six weeks.
Harris County: Nov. 17
When and where: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, at 7 p.m., Commission Chamber, Room 215, Harris County Courthouse, 102 N. College Street, Hamilton.
What it is: the second of two public hearings on an amendment to the Harris County Joint Comprehensive Plan. The amendment would change the county’s Future Character Development Area map so that three areas are designated “Industrial,” according to the presentation the county posted for the first hearing, Oct. 20:
| Area | Parcels | Acres | Current designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| NW Harris Business Park area, near West Point | 2 | 918.65 | Developing suburban/rural residential; established residential |
| Bilmiken Road/I-185 area | 4 | 1,102.47 | Developing suburban/rural residential |
| SE Harris/Ridgeway Road area, south of GA-315 | 3 | 1,819.11 | Agriculture |
The proposed vision statement for industrial areas adds: “Future development opportunities include areas surrounding the existing Northwest Harris Business Park, the Bilmiken Road area, and the Ridgeway Road area south of GA-315.”
A comprehensive plan amendment does not rezone land. Rezoning would come later, parcel by parcel. After the Nov. 17 hearing, the amendment goes to the River Valley Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for review before a final vote by the commissioners, the Ledger-Enquirer reported.
What officials have said: At the Oct. 20 hearing, Commissioner Greg Gantt said, “We’re talking about data centers,” and also, “We don’t have anybody lined up trying to pay money for us to a data center,” according to the Ledger-Enquirer’s account. Chairwoman Susan Andrews said the county wants to diversify its tax base. Economic Development Director Greg Panzer said a study for the River Valley Regional Commission “identified this corridor as potential for a large utility or industrial type use,” and pointed to existing gas and transmission lines and “a proposed industrial development to the south in Muscogee County.” The River Valley Regional Commission provides planning assistance and reviews comprehensive-plan amendments, but the ultimate land-use decisions remain with the respective county governing bodies.
The corner: Panzer said the Ridgeway Road area borders Talbot and Muscogee counties, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. As 706report has reported, the Project Ruby site in northeast Muscogee County borders Harris County to the north and Talbot County to the northeast.
Documents: the county’s hearing notice, map and presentation are posted at harriscountyga.gov. For accessibility help, the notice lists the county clerk, Andrea Dzioba, at 706-628-4958.
Talbot County: Nov. 23 and Dec. 7
When and where: Planning Commission public hearing, Monday, Nov. 23, 2026, at 6 p.m. Board of Commissioners public hearing, Monday, Dec. 7, 2026, at 10 a.m. Both at the Board of Commissioners’ office, 35 West Madison Street, Talbotton.
What it is: amendments that would allow data centers in industrial districts and, as a conditional use, in agricultural districts, with development standards for lot size, buffers, lighting, noise, cooling and decommissioning. The county adopted a data center amendment July 6. On Oct. 22, it agreed in a consent judgment that the amendment “was not adopted in compliance with the procedures required by law,” and Chief Judge John T. Martin Sr. declared it void.
In a Nov. 6 response to 706report’s records request, the county clerk wrote that there are “No changes to the ordinance from the July 6, 2026 meeting.”
County records show that while the first version was being written, county staff met with a consultant who proposed changes “based on the hyperscale user requirements” and with Twenty20 Energy, a company studying “the viability of rezoning” a parcel in the county. County records released Nov. 3 do not say where that parcel is. 706report asked Twenty20 Energy on Nov. 3 where its project is and has not received an answer. Read more: “Talbot County Sets Data Center Hearings for Nov. 23 and Dec. 7. Records Show a Consultant and an Energy Company Met With Staff Before the First Vote.“
Documents and help: the full proposed text is available at the commissioners’ office, 706-665-3220. Accessibility requests are due by 4:30 p.m. Nov. 20 for the Planning Commission hearing and Dec. 4 for the commissioners’ hearing.
Columbus: Dec. 14
When and where: Monday, Dec. 14, 2026, Muscogee County Superior Court.
What it is: a bench trial before Martin, who also signed the Talbot order, in Keep It Rural LLC and eight Upatoi landowners’ suit against the City of Columbus over the Technology Overlay, the zoning district that would allow a data center in northeast Muscogee County. The judge denied the neighbors’ request for a jury in October. In an August court filing, the city’s lawyers called it “a perceived and hypothetical, future data center,” the Ledger-Enquirer reported.
The regional commission’s role
The River Valley Regional Commission, the regional planning and development agency for this part of west Georgia, has a role in both the Harris and Talbot processes:
- Talbot: its planning staff drafted Talbot County’s data center amendments and ordered the legal notices for the new hearings, according to county records.
- Harris: Panzer cited a study done for the commission, and the commission will review the Harris amendment.
706report has asked Harris County and the River Valley Regional Commission for the corridor study, the original list of sites Harris considered, and correspondence about data centers in 2026.
Live in Harris, Talbot or northeast Muscogee County? Have you been approached about selling or leasing land? Tell us through our contact form.
Notes on sourcing.
Harris County: the county’s hearing notice (posted Oct. 2, 2026), its proposed amendment map, and its Oct. 20, 2026 hearing presentation, which lists the parcels and acreage for each area. Acreage is the county’s. Quotes from the Oct. 20 hearing are as reported by Kala Hunter of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Nov. 6, 2026; the Ledger-Enquirer’s per-area totals differ slightly from the county’s tables.
Talbot County: county records released to 706report Nov. 3 and Nov. 6, 2026; consent judgment in WCR, LLC, et al. v. Talbot County, Georgia, et al., Civil Action File No. 2026-CV-084.
Columbus: Keep It Rural LLC et al. v. City of Columbus, Georgia et al., SU2026CV001406, Muscogee County Superior Court.
Disclosure: 706report wrote the People’s Overlay, a set of proposed protections submitted to Columbus Council during the overlay debate.
