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A group of Coweta County residents has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the county’s approval of the proposed Project Sail data center campus, alleging commissioners violated zoning procedures, ignored environmental concerns, and improperly rezoned rural conservation land for heavy industrial use.
The petition, filed May 5 in Coweta County Superior Court against Coweta County and Atlas Development LLC, asks a judge to void the rezoning of approximately 829 acres near Sargent Road and Wagers Mill Road from Rural Conservation to Industrial zoning. The lawsuit also seeks declaratory judgment and judicial review of the county’s approval process.
The plaintiffs include adjacent property owners Paula and Ronald Bockrath, Harvey Shelnut Jr., Quillian and Lillian Barber, Brian Beck, and other Coweta County residents opposing the development, including Steve Swope, one of the organizers of Citizens for a Rural Coweta.
According to the filing, the adjoining property owners “purchased their property for its rural nature or have owned (and continued to own) their land because they enjoy the serenity of this rural/country area of Coweta County.”
Attorney Robert Abney Fricks of Warner Robins-based Fricks Person Tourville, LLC filed the petition on behalf of the residents challenging the rezoning.
Plaintiff Steve Swope said in a statement provided to The Citizen that the group believes the court should grant the requested relief because the filing is “factual” and “justified.”
“This is not how rezoning should take place in Coweta County,” Swope said. “Development and preservation of our rural areas should be balanced, locating heavy industrial development in areas that are already zoned for industrial use and preserving Rural Conservation areas as described in the Comprehensive Plan.”
Commissioners Al Smith, Jeff Fisher, and John Reidelbach voted in favor of the rezoning and declined to comment because of the pending litigation.
Claims center on zoning and environmental review
The lawsuit argues the property falls within an area designated in Coweta County’s Comprehensive Plan for “Rural Places and Complete Communities,” not industrial development.
Plaintiffs contend the county improperly rezoned the land despite its Rural Conservation designation and despite concerns involving groundwater recharge areas, wetlands, and watershed impacts. The filing alleges the original Development of Regional Impact review submitted to the Three Rivers Regional Commission stated the property was not in a significant groundwater recharge area, while Georgia Department of Natural Resources mapping identifies portions of the site as a “Most Significant Groundwater Recharge Area.”
The petition also alleges the revised application submitted by Atlas Development in January 2026 should have triggered a new regional review because it changed the proposed zoning classification from Light Industrial to full Industrial use.
According to the filing, residents and environmental reviewers raised concerns about water consumption, power demands, wetlands disturbance, noise, diesel backup generators, and potential impacts to protected species.
The lawsuit further alleges that commissioners engaged in improper communications with developers and treated residents differently during the rezoning process.
The filing does not include findings from the court, and the allegations have not been proven.
Project Sail debate intensifies
Project Sail has become one of the most closely watched development proposals in Coweta County because of its scale and its location in a rural part of the county.
Citizens for a Rural Coweta organized opposition to Project Sail during months of public hearings before the Coweta County Commission, with supporters frequently attending meetings wearing red shirts and submitting extensive public comments opposing the rezoning. The group formed a political action committee pledging to campaign against commissioners who voted in favor of the project.
Supporters of the project, including some county officials and development advocates, have argued the data center campus could bring long-term tax revenue and infrastructure investment to Coweta County.
Opponents, however, have questioned the projected economic benefits and argued the project is incompatible with the county’s rural conservation goals.
“Data centers hold great potential as essential infrastructure in our country, state, and county,” Swope said. “They can generate increased tax revenues, but at a small fraction of the absurd claims of those promoting Project Sail.”
He added that Citizens for a Rural Coweta would support data centers in existing industrial areas but would oppose similar projects in rural conservation districts.
“We will support data centers proposed in industrial areas but will consistently oppose developers and Commissioners who are in favor of despoiling rural areas for their development, anywhere in our county,” Swope said.
What happens next
The case was filed as a Petition for Review/Appeal and Request for Declaratory Judgment under Georgia’s zoning procedures law.
The plaintiffs are asking the Superior Court to declare the rezoning invalid and prohibit construction and operation of the proposed hyperscale data center campus on the property.
Nathan Lee of Newnan-based Glover & Davis serves as legal counsel for the Coweta County Commission. Legal expenses associated with the county’s defense in the appeal will be paid by taxpayers.
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