Citizen files lawsuits over Columbia County data centers

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A citizen has filed two separate judicial review petitions challenging the Columbia County Board of Commissioners’ approval of major data center rezoning projects.

Both petitions allege procedural defects, incomplete analysis and conflicts with the county’s comprehensive plan.

The first case involves the White Oak Business Park and the second case addresses the Pumpkin Center project.

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The Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved the White Oak rezoning and the Pumpkin Center rezoning in early February.

Gregory P. Guido Jr. filed both petitions on Feb. 25, within the required 30-day judicial review window.

“We’re looking at traffic, we’re looking at environmental impacts, construction, and this isn’t just going to be one or two years. It’s going to be 5 to 10 years,” Guido said.

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House Bill 1223 is currently in the House Judiciary Committee. Sponsors said potential amendments are possible.

Guido said he has heard similar concerns from neighbors in his Greenpoint community and from residents who spoke at commission meetings.

“I felt like the only way to actually do this was to file a lawsuit to say, hey, the people are spoken up, nobody’s hearing them. And here I am trying to be the voice of the people and give them the voice that needs to be heard,” Guido said.

He said he hopes a judge will review the commission’s decision and that his proposed amendments — primarily stricter building requirements — will be added to the zoning code.

“We just want to make sure that we are being protected, the community is being protected, and the environment is being protected during this process,” Guido said.

Guido said the lawsuits have drawn support from other residents whose concerns were not addressed.

“There’s actually been a lot of support out there. A lot of support. A lot of people who had their voices not heard,” Guido said.

The petitioner argues that the commissioners approved the rezoning without a verified water usage or sewer capacity analysis.

According to the petition, the county’s Water and Sewer Division had specific requirements that needed to be met before approval.

The petitioner claims that the county relied on a June 2025 traffic study that was prepared for a previous version of this project.

The petitioner states that the primary access to the White Oak project was shifted to 1635 Appling Harlem Road without a proper analysis of the impacts of this change.

Pumpkin Center

The petitioner alleges that the rezoning was approved despite an incomplete Development of Regional Impact review.

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According to the petition, the State of Georgia temporarily paused the Development of Regional Impact processing specifically for data center projects.

The petitioner argues that there was a failure to provide meaningful or timely notice to the Columbia County School District regarding the rezoning.

The petitioner states that residents were not provided with complete, accurate, or timely information regarding the project.

Both petitions cite the same legal standards that apply to zoning decisions.

Both petitions ask the court to take several actions. First, they ask the court to accept jurisdiction over the case and conduct a judicial review of the rezoning decisions

Second, they ask the court to order Columbia County to produce the complete record of the proceedings.

Third, the petitions ask the court to review whether the rezoning decisions were lawful and supported by the evidence.

We reached out to county officials for a statement, but they said they can’t comment on open litigation.

Both petitions were filed under OCGA 5-4-3, the Georgia code that previously allowed citizens to request court review of a zoning decision. However, that code is no longer in effect. So it appears there’s a technical error.

A new code went into effect last summer. Unlike the previous version, the new code places the burden of proof on the petitioner, who must provide clear and convincing evidence that the zoning classification would harm public health, safety, morality, or general welfare to have the decision overturned. The petitioner must also file the complaint within 30 days of the zoning decision.

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