(*Please note that you DO NOT have to make any donation to sign this petition. Donations sent through this website go to Change.org, not to us. We are not currently receiving donations through this petition.*) 

This petition represents citizens that do not want a data center built at the Battey Business Complex at 705 N. Division St, Rome, GA. We do not want a data center built there for a number of reasons, including (but not limited to):

• We do not want large data centers built in Floyd County at all. Quantitative, qualitative, and anecdotal evidence show that both large and hyperscale AI data centers aren’t helpful to their local communities and instead negatively affect the surrounding quality of life and resource health in very drastic ways. 
   
• We are concerned by the Battey Complex land purchase and data center plans’ lack of transparency, especially considering their large impact on home ownership and local natural resources. 
  
  
• We are concerned because the property purchase and sales agreement stipulates that the public not be informed about this sale and that the purchaser had to sign an NDA with Georgia Power within 30 days of the agreement signing. We do not think this type of secrecy bodes well for city and county residents.
  
  
• We are concerned by the land price involved in the sale, as well as any potential tax breaks or similar incentives, as we are not currently able to predict whether these incentives will be worth potential financial losses the community will face - both in the short and long term. This includes the way data centers affect home values and sales, utilities, and nearby physical infrastructure. We don't want to find out too late that this deal wasn't worth it.
  
  
• We are concerned because large data centers are already known to consume enormous quantities of water – amounts equivalent to what a small city consumes in the same amount of time. We cannot afford such a strain on our water systems. Even if it’s for a short time, if it’s millions of gallons at a time, we cannot afford it. 
  
  
• We are concerned by the extreme number of dangerous gases and other toxic materials – as well as the heat – emitted by data center turbines, gases and materials that can float over a dozen miles away.
   
• We are concerned by the constant low-frequency sound that data centers emit once operational, as low-frequency sound can travel much farther and is more difficult to muffle or suppress than high-frequency sound. 
  
  
• Finally we are not only concerned by the loss of trees in the area, but also by the loss of animal presence and activity. Animal and tree presence in our communities is very important. A large or hyperscale data center on that property guarantees a loss of certain natural presence and activity. 

We ask that our city officials pause – if not permanently stop – the construction of the proposed data center at the Battey Complex. We believe that the costs of large data centers far outweigh any benefit. City officials could do this in a number of ways. For some examples, please check out comprehensive reporting from datacenterwatch.org and mediajustice.org.

Thank you for your consideration.

P.S.:

• Check out our Facebook group! www.facebook.com/groups/wesayno
• Please send questions about this petition to opposeatlasdcbattey@gmail.com.
• If you'd like to contact the Decision Makers for this petition and are having trouble doing it through this site, they are listed as a group for easy copy and paste in "LTCA Resources" section at https://www.limestaylorconsulting.com/thanksbutno
  • Commissioners' emails are directly linked on the city site here: https://www.romega.us/211/City-Commission
  • The RFDCA members email are listed here: https://developromefloyd.com/about/team/
• We will tell The Rome City Commission and the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority about this petition by 10.3.2025, and we'll send them periodic updates on the petition tally until the end of the due diligence period, which is detailed in the property's purchase and sale agreement as 19 months after the contract's signing. You can find a downloadable copy of the property Purchase and Sale Agreement between RFCDA and Atlas Development at www.limestaylorconsulting.com/thanksbutno
• Photo credit : Ryan Smith. Photo from Chattanooga Times Free Press, "Mental hospital closure to have regional effects," written by Andy Johns, published May 23, 2011, https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/may/23/mental-hospital-closure-have-regional-effects/