{"id":3003,"date":"2026-04-11T16:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T16:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/3003\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T16:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T16:39:11","slug":"ai-data-center-costing-over-5-billion-set-to-bear-down-on-century-old-family-cemetery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/3003\/","title":{"rendered":"AI data center costing over $5 billion set to bear down on century-old family cemetery"},"content":{"rendered":"

As AI companies<\/a> race to build the infrastructure powering the next generation of technology,\u00a0data centers are proliferating across the country<\/a>\u2014increasingly landing in,\u00a0or even being courted by<\/a>, rural communities that have little experience dealing with large-scale industrial development, and even less warning when a project arrives.<\/p>\n

One such project is reportedly bearing down on a 15-acre property in\u00a0Muscogee County, GA<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The land has been in\u00a0Debbie Jackson\u2019s husband\u2019s family since the mid-1800s and holds a cemetery with 22 graves. It sits less than two miles from the proposed footprint of Project Ruby\u2014a $5.18 billion, 650-megawatt hyperscale data center<\/a> being developed by Habitat Real Estate Partners.<\/p>\n

Jackson learned about the project in February. Since then, she has been weighing concerns about fire safety, noise, light pollution, water contamination, and what the development might do to her property value.<\/p>\n

As AI companies race to build the infrastructure powering the next generation of technology,\u00a0data centers are proliferating across the country. terovesalainen \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all very up in the air,\u201d\u00a0she told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For homeowners<\/a> in her position, the hard truth is that options narrow significantly once a project is approved.<\/p>\n

Once it\u2019s approved, leverage is limited<\/p>\n

When a large development like a data center gets proposed near your home, the instinct is often to wait and see. But by the time a project clears the permitting process, the window for intervention is largely closed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the local municipality process for approval has been followed and completed, the best opportunity for challenging the data center has passed,\u201d says\u00a0Howard Jacobson, chief operating officer at Stronglast Builders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That process\u2014zoning hearings, special use permits, land development plans\u2014is the primary arena where citizens can obtain information and formally object. <\/p>\n

When a large development like a data center gets proposed near your home, the instinct is often to wait and see. InfiniteFlow \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Once a project clears that hurdle, a neighbor\u2019s remaining options are largely limited to litigation, which Jacobson described as expensive and rarely successful when the developer and municipality have followed proper procedure.<\/p>\n

\u201cA judge may temporarily delay implementation of an approved land use to allow the litigants to present their cases,\u201d Jacobson says, \u201cbut local municipality land-use decisions generally are difficult to reverse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Litigation can, however, create enough public pressure to push a developer toward modest concessions\u2014like expanded buffer zones or additional noise mitigation\u2014even if it can\u2019t stop a project outright. <\/p>\n

In Jackson\u2019s case, the local planning commission already voted 5-1 to expand Project Ruby\u2019s proposed buffer from 75 feet to 500 feet, though Jackson considers that insufficient, according to her Columbus Ledger-Enquirer interview.<\/p>\n

One notable exception: If a development involves federal funding, residents may have more pathways.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the development is funded with private money, the studies and assessments are bypassed\u2014with federal money, you can litigate,\u201d says\u00a0Jillian Hishaw, an agricultural and land-use attorney and author of \u201cSystematic Land Theft.\u201d <\/p>\n

But even that route has gotten harder. A 2025 executive order, Hishaw notes, now \u201callows the feds to bypass all federal environmental assessments.\u201d<\/p>\n

The property value question<\/p>\n

For many homeowners, the more immediate concern isn\u2019t legal\u2014it\u2019s financial. What does a massive industrial neighbor do to your home\u2019s value?<\/p>\n

The honest answer right now is: Nobody knows for certain, because the data center boom is too recent for clear patterns to emerge.<\/p>\n

For many homeowners, the more immediate concern isn\u2019t legal\u2014it\u2019s financial. What does a massive industrial neighbor do to your home\u2019s value? insta_photos \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Hishaw, who has spent 13 years providing legal services to rural landowners<\/a> through her nonprofit, says she predicts values near these facilities will decline over time\u2014particularly as the cumulative effects on natural resources, water, and land use become clearer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is too early to tell,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I predict in a few years, it will drive the value of the land down because there will be no more natural resources to farm or live on.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Jackson herself is already weighing whether to stay or sell\u2014a calculus complicated by an $800 monthly mortgage that won\u2019t be paid off until 2044, and her belief that the data center would push her property value down regardless.<\/p>\n

For homeowners trying to assess their own exposure, the most relevant comparison may be other large industrial or utility neighbors\u2014power plants, distribution centers, cell towers\u2014which have documented histories of affecting adjacent residential values, generally negatively, and generally more severely the closer the proximity.<\/p>\n

What homeowners can do now<\/p>\n

If you live in an area where data center development is expanding\u2014which increasingly means rural communities across the South and Midwest, including\u00a0Georgia<\/a>,\u00a0Texas<\/a>, and\u00a0Ohio<\/a>\u2014the time to act is before a project enters the permitting process.<\/p>\n

The first and most important step is monitoring local zoning meetings. Most land-use battles are won or lost at the municipal level, before most residents even know a project is being proposed. Sign up for alerts from your county planning and zoning board and show up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe zoning process is the primary means by which citizens can obtain information about and challenge any rezoning, special-use permit, or land-development plan,\u201d Jacobson says.<\/p>\n

The first and most important step for homeowners is monitoring local zoning meetings. Daniel \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

It also pays to know what\u2019s on your land before a developer comes knocking. Jackson\u2019s situation is complicated by a historic family cemetery and what she believes may be unmarked Indigenous graves.<\/p>\n

Hishaw advises that homeowners in similar situations request an archaeological survey before permits are approved, and reach out to the state historic preservation office\u2014and, if Indigenous remains may be present, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the relevant tribal historic preservation office. <\/p>\n

If the land is recognized as sacred and part of the national registry, Hishaw notes, it could become a legitimate obstacle for the developer.<\/p>\n

FOIA requests are another underused tool. Public records can reveal what environmental assessments were completed and whether the developer received any waivers. With privately funded projects, Hishaw says, those studies are frequently bypassed, meaning neighbors may not have the full picture of what was reviewed.<\/p>\n

Finally, don\u2019t go it alone. Hishaw is currently finalizing a model policy document that landowners can use as a guide when attending planning and zoning meetings\u2014a sign of how widespread this issue is becoming. \u201cIt is an epidemic at this point,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For Debbie Jackson, options are constrained. The project hasn\u2019t been finally approved, which means there is still a public process to engage. But the window for meaningful intervention gets smaller with each procedural step.<\/p>\n

For everyone else watching the data-center boom expand toward their communities: The lesson from Jackson\u2019s situation isn\u2019t that neighbors are powerless, but that power is time-sensitive. The homeowners who fare best in these situations are the ones who show up to the first meeting\u2014not the one after permits are signed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As AI companies race to build the infrastructure powering the next generation of technology,\u00a0data centers are proliferating across…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,25,3051,203,2981,3052,3050,214],"class_list":{"0":"post-3003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ai","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-cemeteries","11":"tag-data","12":"tag-georgia","13":"tag-homeowners","14":"tag-real-estate","15":"tag-united-states"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}