Shadowbox Studios sued DeKalb County in August 2026, saying the county's data center pause is illegal and that planners told it three times in writing it could build a data center on its land. On September 9 the county zoning appeals board upheld the denial and left the fight to the courts.

Sept 9, 2026Source

✋ Turned down

After almost a year of protest, DeKalb County commissioners rejected a special land use permit for a 2 million square foot data center on 95 acres in Ellenwood, a mostly Black community already dealing with air pollution. County planners had recommended denial.

Aug 13, 2026Source

📜 Data center rules

DeKalb County commissioners voted down a proposed data center zoning ordinance after a year of work. Residents said the rules were not strong enough or would be hard to enforce. The draft sorted data centers into five size groups and kept big ones away from homes, parks and transit.

June 23, 2026Source

⏸️ Pause on new data centers

DeKalb County paused new data center applications in July 2025 to write rules, and has extended the pause several times. On July 7, 2026 commissioners extended it into early 2027 and asked county departments like public safety, roads and public health to study how data centers would affect them. The county cannot take new data center applications until March 30, 2027.

July 2025Source

Built & runningBeing builtApproved, not built yetProposedStopped or cancelled

What you can do

Get told first.
We'll email you if anything changes in Unincorporated DeKalb County.
Go to county meetings.
Anyone can speak. Big projects usually need a public hearing.
Ask questions in writing.
Use our checklist.

📣 Report something here

🔔 Get told first

⚡ Your electric company

Depending on where you live in Unincorporated DeKalb County: Georgia Power Co. (company) or Walton Electric Member Corp. (co-op (owned by its members)) or Snapping Shoals El Member Corp. (co-op (owned by its members)).

Big data centers need a lot of power. Who pays for new power lines depends on state rules. See the rules in Georgia.

🙋 Open tasks here

Will the developer appeal or sue?
How big would the data center be?
What will the court decide about the moratorium?

How to help →

2 data center projects in Unincorporated DeKalb County

In Unincorporated DeKalb County

Ellenwood data center (PCC-DeKalb LLC)

Shadowbox Studios data center proposal

Nearby (within 15 miles)

Edged Atlanta data center campus (ATL01)

DC BLOX Atlanta East data center (Farmer Road)

1611 Ellsworth mixed-use project with data center

Rockdale Technology Park 1 (Sigman Road)

Project Rockforge data center campus (Grind Capital / MMM Acquisitions)

Fort Gillem data center campus (Digital Realty ATL15/ATL16)

Local votes and rules

⚖️ Court case