Roswell's temporary ban on new data centers expires Sept. 20 with no extension announced. A new analysis published by Roswell Pulse finds the buildout concentrates far from north Fulton, where large parcels, high-voltage transmission and fiber are scarce. No 700-acre assemblage exists in Roswell.
The biggest data center investments are landing in south metro and exurban counties. Amazon Web Services is spending more than $11 billion across Butts and Douglas counties. The largest facility approved anywhere near Roswell is an 18-megawatt conversion of part of an existing building in Marietta.
What the research says about home values
A George Mason University study led by Terry Clower, director of the Center for Regional Analysis, analyzed 2023 home sales across Northern Virginia against each property's distance from a data center, controlling for 13 factors. It found no statistical evidence that proximity to a data center drags down values. Clower has cautioned against reading the finding as proof a data center boosts nearby home values — his explanation, relayed in the Roswell Pulse analysis, is that data centers get built where infrastructure is already strongest, and those same features (good roads, reliable utilities, fiber, airport access) are what make an area attractive to homebuyers in the first place.
An Indiana study covering 2021 through 2026 found homes within 1.5 miles of data centers appreciated 42 percent overall, compared with 41 percent for their local markets. In three of the four sites studied, though, homes near data centers gained less than the local market average.
Roswell's typical home value stood at $662,376 as of July 31, up 1.1 percent year-over-year, as we reported Aug. 31.
Roswell's moratorium timeline
Mayor Mary Robichaux and three new council members took office Jan. 12. That same night, the council voted unanimously to impose the moratorium, which City Attorney David Davidson presented. Roswell had no data-center-specific rules in its Unified Development Code (UDC) at the time, and the city has no data center projects currently proposed.
The council extended the moratorium on March 23 and again on June 22, pushing the deadline to Sept. 20. The extension gives staff time to draft UDC standards addressing utility demands and environmental impacts. Mayor Robichaux told Roswell Pulse in its Sept. 1 analysis that the city was "not ruling out ever permitting one," framing the pause as regulatory preparation.
Fulton County pushes back on tax breaks
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners added a new layer on Aug. 5, approving a resolution opposing local subsidies for data center construction. District 1 Commissioner Bridget Thorne and District 2 Commissioner Bob Ellis sponsored the measure.
The resolution cited concerns about water and power use, noise and traffic. It noted that the Development Authority of Fulton County (DAFC), which operates independently of county government, has granted $150 million in tax breaks for data centers since 2020. Half of that went to one Microsoft project. The resolution estimated state incentives cost county and city governments $1.1 billion in sales tax revenue in 2026 alone.
Zoning decisions still rest with the 15 cities inside Fulton County. The resolution states opposition to subsidies but cannot block a city from approving a data center.
Georgia has waived sales tax on servers, generators and cooling equipment for qualifying data center facilities since 2018. By mid-2026, 34 Georgia counties and 23 cities had adopted, proposed or were developing data center ordinances or moratoriums, according to the Roswell Pulse analysis.
Roswell's moratorium expires Sept. 20. The city has not announced whether it will seek another extension or bring new UDC rules to a vote.
