Effingham County residents sue over OpenAI data center zoning, secret deal

After Effingham County Commissioners confronted residents for the first time over the OpenAI data center deal, three residents filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Effingham County.

The complaint challenges how the county zoned the 1,400-acre property planned for the data center without public process, according to GPB News.

Attorney Greg Gilluly, who is representing the residents, told GPB News that the county’s adoption of new land use definitions, including “data center,” did not comply with local public hearing requirements.

“We should start over and let the public let their own voice be heard and show up in open meetings, and that’s how it’s supposed to be,” he said.

The complaint also alleges that the county violated state law, including Georgia’s Open Meeting Act.

The complaint follows the first public meeting held by the Effingham County Board of Commissioners regarding the data center.

Commissioner Roger Burdette apologized at the meeting for not telling the public sooner and even offered to support a moratorium on future data center developments.

“I should have done something different because this is a high-profile thing,” Burdette said. “And I didn’t read that. I didn’t see that.”

Burdette said he visited other data centers and was assured that the data center’s development would not have major effects on the county.