The Data Center Divide
A policy snapshot ahead of the 2026 midterms. Mapping data center incentives, restrictions, and bans through legislation, regulations, and executive actions across all 50 states and 1,462 local jurisdictions.
Whitfield County
Anti-Data Center Policies
Whitfield County’s enacted ordinance limits data centers to the M-2 heavy-manufacturing district and requires special-use approval, restricting where new projects can locate without adding ongoing operating rules.
current law · County measureRestricts data centers to the M-2 Heavy Manufacturing zoning district.Whitfield County Unified Zoning Ordinance — data center provisions (Ordinance 26-03)
What this means
The measure would limit data centers to the heavy-manufacturing M-2 district and require a special-use approval, narrowing where they can be built and adding an approval step. The ordinance’s zoning limits create a significant barrier to new projects, though the measure does not add ongoing operating rules for data centers.
People behind it
- Whitfield County Board of Commissioners
Requested and jointly proposed the amendments to the Unified Zoning Ordinance.
- City of Dalton Mayor and Council
Jointly requested and proposed the amendments and introduced and enacted Ordinance 26-03.
- Ethan Calhoun
Planning and Zoning staff member explicitly identified as the requester of the ordinance agenda item.
Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements2
Data centers are permitted only in the M-2 Heavy Manufacturing zoning district, preventing them from operating in other zoning districts.
A Special Use approval is required for a data center, adding an additional discretionary permitting step before development or operation.
Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions2
The ordinance expressly recognizes “Data Center” as a zoning use, covering facilities that store, manage, process, or transmit digital data, including AI workloads, cloud computing, crypto mining, e-commerce, and other high-performance computing. Data Center
The ordinance adds Data Center to the Permitted Use Table, making it eligible to be located in the M-2 Heavy Manufacturing District; the ordinance text states that a Special Use is required. allow the use only in the M-2, Heavy Manufacturing Zoning District with a Special Use required
Sources
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