HAMILTON, Ga. - Harris County commissioners will hold the second and final public hearing Tuesday, Nov. 17, on a plan to mark 3,840 acres in three parts of the county for future industrial use. The hearing is set for 7 p.m. in Room 215 of the Harris County Courthouse at 102 N. College St. in Hamilton, according to the county's public notice. The same room hosts the Board of Commissioners' regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. that night, the county calendar shows.

The proposal is an amendment to the county's comprehensive plan, not a rezoning, but it has drawn crowds because many residents believe the land is being lined up for a hyperscale data center. The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported Nov. 6 that speaker after speaker at the first hearing on Oct. 20 pressed commissioners on that point. Commissioners answered that no developer has committed to the county and that the goal is to broaden a tax base that is almost entirely farms, forests and houses.

The three sites

Economic development director Greg Panzer laid out the land picture at the Oct. 20 hearing, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. About 75% of the county is agriculture and forestry, less than 10% is residential, and commercial and industrial land each cover about 0.2% of the county, at 539 acres and 481 acres. "Not even 1% of our land is commercial or industrial, not even 1%," Commission Chair Susan Andrews said, according to the newspaper.

Commissioners and Panzer narrowed an original list of 10 locations to three, the newspaper reported. None of the land is county-owned, so any use depends on owners who are willing to sell. The sites sit at the county's western, southwestern and southern edges. The three areas are:

Panzer pointed to a River Valley Regional Commission study that identified the Ridgeway Road corridor for large utility or industrial uses, along with existing gas and transmission lines and a proposed industrial development just south in Muscogee County, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. About a third of the Bilmiken Road area is already utility and transportation land, the newspaper reported. The newspaper said the amendment would lift the county's industrial share to about 1.4%.

Why commissioners say they need it

The commission's stated concern is property tax revenue. A state law passed in May lets local governments adopt a local homestead option sales tax, which would cut property taxes through a larger homestead exemption, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. That tax would require a local referendum, and its proceeds would begin offsetting property taxes in 2028, the newspaper said.

Commissioner Greg Gantt of District 3 said at the hearing that industrial investment such as data centers could offset the lost revenue, according to the newspaper. "I don't want us to be seen as trying to hide something," Gantt said, adding that the county is being as transparent as it can and that no developer has made a commitment. Andrews said no developers are lining up, but the county wants to be ready to "backfill" the homestead losses it expects.

Panzer put numbers on the pitch in an email to the newspaper. Every $1 billion of investment would bring the county about $3.6 million a year in revenue at the county's maintenance and operations rate of 9.13 mills outside West Point, not counting school taxes, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. Those figures are estimates, and the county has not named a project or a company.

What residents told commissioners

Jackie Moyer of Upatoi, who started the Keep It Rural Harris County group, asked commissioners directly what the land was for and tied the proposal to Project Ruby, a proposed $5.18 billion hyperscale data center in northeast Muscogee County, the newspaper reported. Moyer had asked commissioners in August for a one-year moratorium on hyperscale data centers, according to an Aug. 11 Ledger-Enquirer story. She told the newspaper that M-1 light manufacturing zoning is the category data centers fall under.

Meghan Gunther of Hamilton said the plan change paves the way for rezoning, though she credited Harris County with following the process correctly, unlike Columbus, which faces a lawsuit over its technology overlay ordinance from Keep It Rural LLC and eight Upatoi landowners, the newspaper reported. Celia Brooks of Callaway Woods asked why the plan could not wait until its 2029 update and requested a six-month data center moratorium. Mark Oliver, also of Callaway Woods, asked for a moratorium and called the change "paving the way for danger," according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Not every speaker was critical. State Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, thanked commissioners for their transparency and urged them to keep getting information to residents, the newspaper reported. Larry Smith, the final speaker, said Gantt was the first official to be open about what the proposal was for.

How the plan got here

The current comprehensive plan was adopted in July 2024 and runs through 2029, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. Andrews proposed exploring an amendment at the July 21 meeting on Panzer's advice, and the board voted 4-1 to start the process, with Gantt making the motion, Bobby Irions seconding and Robert Grant of District 2 voting no, according to the Aug. 11 story. Panzer said then that the amendment would not rezone any property and that the normal rezoning process would still apply to any specific parcel.

What happens after Nov. 17

Panzer outlined eight steps in all, the newspaper reported. After the Nov. 17 hearing, six remain: a River Valley Regional Commission review, revisions and submittal to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and final approval by the county. Residents who want the proposed amendment overview and the Oct. 20 presentation can download both from the county's hearing notice at harriscountyga.gov.

Questions about the hearing go to County Clerk Andrea Dzioba at 706-628-4958 or [email protected], the county notice says. Anyone who needs accommodation for a disability should contact the same office. County offices are closed Wednesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day and reopen Thursday.