The Effingham County Board of Commissioners has delayed its vote on the Project Camellia data center site plan until Nov. 17. The board voted unanimously on Tuesday night. Commissioner Roger Burdette had said the OpenAI presentation lacked clarity on noise protections and safety.
District 2 Commissioner Burdette made the motion after an extended exchange. Rich Modliszewski of Octans GA LLC presented the plan. Burdette said the presentation conflicted with conversations he had held with OpenAI representatives, particularly over noise-mitigation berms.
“I’ve been talking about a berm since day one,” Burdette said. “I was told we were going to have a 20-foot berm, that if we needed to add something extra like a concave acoustic wall that we would do that. If I can’t get approval on some dirt tonight then I can’t stand behind this site plan.”
District 4 Commissioner Beth Helmly also announced that the board would discuss a data center moratorium at its next meeting. Commissioners additionally approved the Effingham County Zoning Ordinance. They also adopted the official zoning map, finishing business from the previous meeting. Another data center making headway is the billion-dollar data center plan is splitting residents in Bartow County, Georgia.
Scope of implementation on the Project Camellia data center plan
The campus would rise at the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub on roughly 1,347 acres. The site plan includes six data center buildings, a warehouse and an operations building. It also shows two electrical substations, cooling infrastructure, electrical yards and about 1,600 parking spaces.
However, the plan contained no written berm commitment. Nothing bound the builder to a 20-foot dirt wall along Hodgeville Road, which borders dense residential neighbourhoods. Modliszewski initially could not confirm the berm, saying only that some form of noise mitigation would follow zoning requirements. He then took a phone call in a corner of the chamber during a brief recess. On returning, he promised the 20-foot berm.
That assurance did not satisfy Burdette, who held his motion. “I expected tonight to have somebody with the capabilities of coming here and telling people about this project and we haven’t had that,” he said. “I really appreciate what all of OpenAI has done for us so far, but safety’s got to be number one, and we have to have reassurance of that, and I don’t have that assurance.”
Commissioners also questioned water and sewer service, wetland impacts and generators. OpenAI had previously committed to battery storage for backup power. Modliszewski clarified that generators would serve “life safety and security systems,” not the data centre buildings. He deferred most technical questions to Thomas & Hutton engineers, calling the proposal a preliminary site plan.
Challenges facing the Project Camellia data center plan
Residents packed the chamber despite the election-night setting. Some wore “No Data Center” stickers alongside “I Voted” stickers, and the Protect Effingham Alliance prepared instructions for a silent protest.
Alexis Lane and Anna Lee HeidtHarris, co-founders of Protect Effingham, welcomed the delay but kept their objections. “Obviously we’re appreciative of the tabling,” HeidtHarris said. “We definitely need more time.” She argued the presentation showed OpenAI focused on meeting requirements rather than honouring verbal commitments. Lane cited the revised plan’s taller buildings, now 42 feet, and broader concerns: “I wish that they would put this much passion into worrying about other aspects of the project as they are for these berms.”
Meanwhile, county resident Jerri Howell distributed petitions seeking ordinance amendments that would revise data centre definitions and prohibit data centres in all zoning districts. The drive began about a month ago and has already passed 1,500 signatures. Howell called the possible moratorium too little, too late. “We’ve already given access to what is arguably one of the largest if not the largest hyperscale data center in the country,” she said. “I feel like we’re doing a moratorium to save face as opposed to pressing pause and actively thinking through this.”
The plan now returns on Nov. 17, with Burdette expecting more answers by then. The vote, the moratorium discussion and the petition drive all follow.
Project Overview
- Project Value: $20 billion
- Location: Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub, Georgia
- Developer: OpenAI via Octans GA LLC
- Status: Site plan vote tabled
Scope
- Approximately 1,347-acre campus
- Six data center buildings planned
- Warehouse and operations building
- Two substations, 1,600 parking spaces
Project Highlights
- Unanimous vote delays decision
- 20-foot berm promised verbally
- Battery storage for backup power
- Moratorium discussion set next
Key Developments
- Vote tabled until Nov. 17
- Zoning ordinance approved Tuesday
- Berm commitment made after recess
- Petition drive tops 1,500 signatures
Key Challenges
- No written berm commitment
- Buildings raised to 42 feet
- Wetland and water questions open
- Resident opposition keeps growing
Outlook
- Revised answers due Nov. 17
- Moratorium vote may follow
- Petition seeks data center ban
- Development plan stage still ahead
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