Effingham CountyThursday, November 5
Effingham commissioners table the OpenAI data center site plan until Nov. 17
The Daily Savannah team
A packed Election night crowd in Springfield expected a vote. Instead, Effingham County commissioners voted Tuesday to postpone the site plan for Project Camellia, OpenAI's proposed data center campus near Rincon. After a recess, they voted unanimously to table it until their regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 17.
Commissioner Roger Burdette, who said he supports the economic potential, pressed the developer to commit to a 20-foot earthen berm along Hodgeville Road. The developer's representative wouldn't say yes or no. Commissioner Beth Helmly said she wasn't comfortable voting that night. County planning staff had recommended approval.
Project Camellia would cover about 1,347 acres
Area of Project Camellia, beside places you know
1,019 football fields would fit inside Project Camellia
Source: WJCL
View as table
| Area | |
|---|---|
| Project Camellia | 1,347 acres (Near Rincon) |
| A football field | 1.3 acres (end zones included) |
- Buildings: six compute buildings, 471,000 square feet each
- Buffers: 300 feet beside agricultural-residential zoning
- Parking: 1,608 spaces
- Jobs: OpenAI anticipates more than 1,000 positions
- Next vote: Tue., Nov. 17
An OpenAI spokesperson said the company is committing more than $20 million to wetland mitigation and designed the site to avoid 70% of the wetlands. Helmly raised that an additional 1.18 acres could be impacted.
The plan shrank in size and water use, but not in height
| Earlier plan | Measure | Current plan |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Buildings | 6 |
| 100K | Water use (gallons a day) | 30,000 |
| 35 | Building height (feet) | 42 |
Source: WTOC
Sources: WTOC, Savannah Morning News, WJCL