Marietta City Council. June 11, 2025 – Data Center at 1751 Bells Ferry Rd

Our Take

Another week, another quiet corner of suburban Georgia asked to become an industrial power draw. The Marietta case is a familiar script: an LLC with a generic name (MMM Acquisitions, doing business as James Freeman LLC) asks the council to flip 31 acres from commercial to light industrial, toss in a Special Land Use Permit, relocate a cell tower, and clear the way for a data center — all decided in a single evening meeting most residents never knew was happening.

Credit to the Marietta City Council for actually livestreaming this and to the residents who showed up. Raven McGuire's line about HVAC noise sounding like "the world's loudest desktop computer fan" is the kind of plain-spoken detail that cuts through zoning jargon better than any staff report. Grace Blumberg's worry about water and energy use — and who eventually eats those costs — is the question every city council in this buildout should be forced to answer before, not after, a vote. Rezoning from CRC to LI isn't a paperwork formality; it's a permanent change in what a neighborhood sounds like, how much power it draws off the local grid, and whose utility bill absorbs the difference.

This is exactly the kind of local land-use fight that adds up to a national pattern, one parcel at a time. If you live near Bells Ferry Road or anywhere else this is happening, check our facility map to see what's already been approved nearby, and use our take-action page to find out how to get in front of your own council before the vote, not after.