NEWTON COUNTY— In the past year, Newton County has seen a rapid influx of requests from developers looking to build two very different but similarly objectionable types of projects: Data centers and convenience stores.
To give the county the chance to update its ordinances and account for the recent rush, the Newton County Board of Commissioners voted to enact a pair of moratoriums on the acceptance of applications, requests or submissions proposing the development of data centers and convenience stores.
The data center moratorium vote was unanimously approved, and the convenience center moratorium was enacted in a 4-1 vote. Both moratoriums will be in place for 30 days.
“We’ve been working on all of these already, and we’re just getting too many people asking for these applications that we’re working on them diligently and trying to get them done in 30 [days], and if we can’t, then we’ll just have to extend it,” said District 5 Commissioner LeAnne Long in a phone call with The Covington News on Wednesday. “The goal is to get them done quickly because we’re trying to make sure that we have quality here and we want to build better than we are today.”
Data centers
It is no secret that many companies have set their gaze upon Newton County for data center sites in the last year. Although Newton County’s ordinance specifies that data centers can only exist in the Stanton Springs overlay, local municipalities have differing regulations.
Data centers have crept into the county’s incorporated areas by looking at cities like Covington, Social Circle and Porterdale. As these cities are not subject to the county’s overlay rules, several developers have sought out property and requested city annexation.
In annexation requests, the cities are approached first and the county is met with second.
“All of the requests for data centers have come through the cities, not to the county,” Long said in Tuesday’s meeting. “...I think it’s something we need to do as a county so we can get our ducks in a row and work on these ordinances.”
The moratorium will allow the county to put a pause on receiving applications, requests or submissions relating to incoming data centers. It will not stop anything that is already in the pipeline or in arbitration.
District 2 Commissioner Demond Mason said that the county had become “inundated” in requests.
“Because we are being inundated with all of these requests, we want to make sure that we are protecting our community,” Mason said. “And so despite what naysayers may say, this board works very, very hard and very, very diligently and consistently behind the scenes to ensure that everything that we hear our residents say—and even some things that we don’t hear you say—that we know.”
Similarly, the City of Covington enacted a 180-day data center moratorium at its Jan. 20 council meeting. The City of Social Circle enacted a moratorium of its own in 2025, but it is no longer in place.
While the moratorium is underway, Director of Development Services Shena Applewhaite said that staff will move forward with a text amendment as well as create appropriate language to incorporate in the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), which is currently in the process of being updated.
Convenience stores
In a subsequent agenda item, the commissioners enacted a moratorium on the acceptance of applications, requests or submissions proposing the development of convenience stores.
Applewhaite shared data with the council that demonstrates the influx of convenience store-related applications that have come in the last year. She noted that the county had one project application in 2023 and two land disturbance permits in 2024.
From the beginning of 2025 to date, there have been 13 relevant applications.
“I know in the district that I represent, I can count on like six gas stations less than a half a mile,” said Andre Cooper, interim District 3 commissioner. “That’s a lot of gas stations, so I just want to thank you for working on this.”
Mason, whose district is also on the west side of Newton County, noted that residents have voiced their desire for increased variety and quality in their commercial projects.
“Dr. [Tina] McCray, who came up, lives in District 2 and spoke so eloquently about [how] we are better than just convenience stores,” Mason said, referencing earlier public comments. “Do we need them? Yes. Do we want to have them? Yes. But do we want them, you know, four on every single corner? No.”
At the questioning of District 1 Commissioner Stan Edwards, Applewhaite offered more insight into how the county might change its ordinances during the moratorium.
Applewhaite said that the county is looking into distance separation requirements and limitations on the number of convenience stores allowed at an intersection. She also noted that the moratorium and update will apply to convenience stores with and without gas pumps.
“...right now there’s nothing saying that they can’t locate right next to each other,” Applewhaite said. “That is the issue we’re having, now they’re clustered, they tend to cluster at major junctions or in a linear pattern, you’ll find them close together along a road. So we think that by implementing like a distance separation, that should help to alleviate some of the locations that they’ll be able to go into.”
Cooper made the motion to enact the moratorium, and Mason seconded. The motion passed 4-1 with Edwards casting the lone opposing vote.
In an email with The News on Wednesday morning, Edwards shared why he voted against the motion.
“Several reasons but chief among them was my skepticism about what the desired impact on C-stores can legally be within an updated UDO,” Edwards wrote. “I was not sure if the desired impact was fewer C-stores, changes to C-stores built going forward, or both. The board probably made the right decision but I felt like we needed more legal definition for the moratorium. The board made a decision and I support it.”
