Leon County Residents push back on data center development as commissioners table moratorium talks
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Residents of Marquez are raising concerns about rapid industrial development in their community, including an approved 1,500-megawatt data center, a battery energy storage system (BESS) facility, and a large solar project.
A data center moratorium item on a recent Leon County Commissioners Court agenda drew attention from neighbors who say the pace of development is changing the character of their community.
Rachel Streater, a fifth-generation resident on family land in Marquez, said the changes are hitting close to home — literally.
"My house is just on the other side of the fence of a massive solar industrial complex."
Streater is among several neighbors who asked the Leon County Commissioners Court to pause additional data center development.
"And I'm the 5th generation on family land. It has been a safe space for me for many years, and it feels like all of that's changing now, definitely."
This month, commissioners tabled discussions of a temporary moratorium.
Resident Henry Tatum said neighbors are not opposed to growth, but want it handled responsibly.
"We, we understand that there's gonna be growth. We just want it to be meaningful and respectful to the residents that are already here, you know. Your liberty ends where somebody else's begins and that's kind of the gray area with the property rights you see with these big projects, you know."
Resident Daniel McCoslin outlined the scope of development already underway or in the pipeline.
"Right now we've got, uh, 2 solar farms that are coming in already being built, land cleared. Uh, 3 data center projects that they're trying to get approved and 4 BESS facilities."
I reached out to the commissioner for the Marquez area for an interview but had not heard back as of Monday afternoon.
Residents asked commissioners to keep the data center issue on future agendas, but say they are not optimistic about the outcome.
"They aren't gonna do a moratorium. They said they weren't. It was just political theater for them to try to save face with the constituents and the people in the county," McCoslin said.
Leon County Commissioners meet the second and fourth Monday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at the Leon County Courthouse. As of Monday, an agenda for the June 22 meeting had not been posted.
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