Skip to main content
CityRuleLookup

Bartow County, GA Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Max building height
75 feet from structure pad
Yard setback
50 feet front, side, rear
Minimum lot size
50 acres
Minimum lot frontage/width
110 feet each
First-offense fine
$300 under § 13.3
Enforcing office
Bartow County Community Development

Summary

Unincorporated Bartow County allows data centers as a use with its own zoning standards under the county Zoning Ordinance. Buildings are capped at 75 feet in height, and every data center site must meet a 50-foot yard setback on all sides plus minimum lot, frontage and buffer requirements before Community Development will issue a building permit.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Bartow County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

Data center: Commercial activity center associated with technology, information systems, data infrastructure, data hosting and management activities, and similar new information age uses such as data processing, storage, and related services. Structures and land may be used for uses customarily incidental to the primary permitted use. The following development standards shall apply: 1.Buildings shall not exceed a height of seventy-five (75) feet, measured from structure pad level. Height limitations shall not apply to accessory structures such as water towers, conveyer belts, smokestacks and other incidental and uninhabited parts of industrial uses.2.Front, Side, and Rear yard setback: Fifty (50) feet.3.Minimum lot frontage: One hundred ten (110) feet adjoining a street.4.Minimum lot width at building line: One hundred ten (110) feet.5.Minimum lot acreage: Fifty (50) acres.6.Minimum buffer requirements. In addition to required setbacks, buffers shall be required in accordance with the applicable zoning district.

Full Breakdown

The Bartow County Zoning Ordinance, printed as Appendix A to the county code, treats a data center as a defined commercial use subject to its own development standards rather than the district's general dimensional table. 2, principal data center buildings cannot exceed 75 feet in height measured from the structure pad, though the cap does not apply to accessory structures such as water towers, conveyer belts or smokestacks. Every side of the lot carries a 50-foot front, side and rear yard setback, and the site must have a minimum of 110 feet of lot frontage and 110 feet of lot width at the building line.

A data center tract must total at least 50 acres, and buffers are required on top of the setbacks based on the applicable zoning district. HVAC and air conditioning equipment must be screened from the public right-of-way and adjoining properties with walls, fencing, roof elements or landscaping unless it sits more than 100 feet from the property line, and the principal building's front facade must face the street unless it is more than 500 feet from or not visible from the right-of-way. Security fencing outside the required setback and buffer is exempt from the county's normal fence height limits, and guard houses and secured entry features are allowed at public road entrances despite other code provisions.

Applications go through Bartow County Community Development, which administers the Zoning Ordinance under the Zoning Administrator. Because the standards sit in the definitions article rather than a specific zoning district, they apply to a data center use wherever the underlying district otherwise allows it.

Violations & Fines

Bartow County enforces the Zoning Ordinance through the Zoning Administrator and code enforcement staff under § 13.2, who may issue criminal citations in magistrate court or seek civil fines and injunctive relief in superior court. A first violation of any article other than Article VI carries a mandatory $300 fine, a second violation is $500, and a third or later violation is $1,000, with each day of noncompliance counted as a separate offense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a data center be built anywhere in unincorporated Bartow County?
Only where the underlying zoning district otherwise allows the use; the 75-foot height cap, 50-foot setbacks, 110-foot frontage and width, 50-acre minimum lot and buffer rules in Zoning Ordinance § 3.2 apply on top of whatever the district itself permits, and Community Development reviews the site plan before issuing a building permit.
Do the setback rules apply to accessory equipment like water towers?
No. Zoning Ordinance § 3.2 exempts accessory structures such as water towers, conveyer belts, smokestacks and other incidental, uninhabited parts of a data center's industrial operation from the 75-foot height limit that applies to the main building.
What happens if a data center violates the siting standards?
The Zoning Administrator or code enforcement can issue a criminal citation in magistrate court or the county can pursue civil fines and injunctive relief in superior court, with a mandatory $300 fine for a first violation, rising to $500 and then $1,000 for repeat violations under § 13.3.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Bartow County

All Bartow County rules

Compare Bartow County to another location·View the Georgia data centers & crypto mining overview

Get notified when Data Center Zoning & Siting in Bartow County, GA changes

We'll email you the moment we detect a change in the code. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

We'll never sell or share your email. One-click unsubscribe in every email.

See something wrong?

Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.