There was a somewhat startling citizen report about the possible future datacenter site at the Tuesday evening Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Encroachment alleged on rezoning condition of potential datacenter property @ LCC 2026-03-24

In Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, Tetiana Babcock, who owns land southeast of the prospective datacenter land on Coleman Road, said the vegetative buffer approved last July had apparently been violated, and possible even logging trucks had encroached on her property between the railroad and the Withlacoochee River, on March 9, 2026.

• 8. CWTBH – Tetiana Babcock – Skeet Range Rd – Data Center Encroachment
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/R7Ggil9el0o

Ms. Babcock said that condition 4. of the rezoning of the property on Coleman Road N was being violated. That condition says that a 200 foot natural buffer must be left on the North and South boundaries which abut residential zoning. Her property appears to be zoned R-1 rural residential.

That note is by Gretchen Quarterman, who took that video for LAKE. This is Condition 4 as adopted July 8, 2026; see the board packet for that meeting.

4. A 200′ undisturbed buffer shall be required along the Northern, and Southern property lines abutting current Residential Zoning District boundaries.

You can see that 200-foot vegetated buffer on this rezoning map by the applicant. Part of it is south of the Foxborough subdivision in the northeast of the subject property. The rest of the vegetative buffer is all along the south of the subject property, from Coleman Road to the Withlacoochee River.

Rezoning Map for Langdale Capital Assets, Inc.
PDF

The property of Tetiana Katherine Babcock is outlined in green on this map by the According to the Lowndes County Tax Assessors. You can see that her property abuts the subject property on its southeast, from the railroad to the river. So the 200-foot vegetative buffer is supposed to run along her whole north border.

Also, this means that the subject property landowner has a way for logging trucks and logging equipment to cross the railroad towards the river.

Which means that there is actually little barrier to putting manufacturing, datacenter or something else, east of the railroad.

Map: Tetiana Babcock, 2026-03-26 –Lowndes County Tax Assessors

As you can see in this VALORGIS map, except for the Conservation zoning near the Withlacoochee River, the entire subject property was rezoned M-1, Light Manufacturing.

Map: M-1 Zoning, 2026-03-26 –VALORGIS

Tetiana Babcock’s property is zoned R-1, Low Density Residential, with 1-acre lots. It appears that she has the only house on it at the moment. But that doesn’t mean she should have encroachment from the neighbors.

-jsq

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