Petition drive in Coweta County seeks referendum on proposed data center in move aimed at local voter control

Residents in Coweta County, Georgia, have begun a petition effort aimed at changing how proposed industrial projects like large data centers are decided locally, according to a report published Sunday by The Guardian. Organizers held a signing event at Morgan’s Market and said they are seeking enough signatures to trigger a referendum that would give voters a chance to approve or reject the project known as Project Sail.

The petition drive centers on Project Sail, a planned data center described in the report as slated for the rural part of the county. Organizers say the referendum would not only allow residents to vote on the specific proposal, but would also include a prohibition on other data centers, if approved by voters. The report describes turnout of hundreds of people at the signing event, held after rainfall in the area.

The Guardian reports that Coweta County could become the third locality in Georgia to use a referendum mechanism of this kind in the state’s history. Organizers associated with the effort have framed the campaign as a community-led attempt to place the decision in the hands of residents rather than leaving it to administrative or permitting actions alone, the report said.

The record described in the report places the effort in a broader pattern of local disputes over land use and major infrastructure projects, where residents have argued that large-scale developments bring costs and potential impacts that should be weighed through public participation. The report does not detail any specific regulatory findings, court rulings, or permit status tied to Project Sail at the time of publication, and the petition effort described is presented as a step that could come before or alongside later government actions.

Organizers also suggested the effort is intended to serve as a model for other communities, according to the report. If the signatures collected meet whatever threshold Georgia law and county procedures require, the county could move toward a referendum vote, creating an additional decision point for residents. The report does not specify the exact signature count needed, the verification process, or the timetable for any election.

In practical terms, a successful referendum would shift the next step in the policy timeline from administrative handling of a proposal to a voter decision. A prohibition included in such a measure would then determine whether the county restricts similar data-center activity, potentially affecting future planning decisions, permitting, and the scope of what local officials can approve.

For the petition drive, the immediate question is whether organizers can qualify a measure for the ballot and whether county election procedures accept the proposed wording, which the report implies would be central to moving forward. The longer-term outcome would hinge on voter participation and the final language of any referendum if one is certified and scheduled.