A rezoning request covering land between U.S. 72 and U.S. 222 in Trinity has drawn more than 40 residents to a recent public hearing, with much of the worry centered on whether a data center could eventually land on the property. Creek Properties and John Eyster Jr. own the land and are seeking the zoning change, but the Trinity Town Council tabled its vote and pushed the decision to the Nov. 9 meeting.
The request covers three parcels of land, according to AL.com, which reports the landowners want to shift the property from residential zoning to general and heavy industrial zoning. WAFF, however, describes the revised proposal differently, reporting that it includes both light and heavy industrial zoning, with the heavy industrial portion moved farther from nearby homes, according to WAFF. The two outlets also differ on the size of the site: WAFF puts it at nearly 184 acres, while WHNT reports the zoning change covers nearly 200 acres, per WHNT.
An Online Ad Fuels Suspicion
Much of the anxiety traces back to an online advertisement that described a section of the property as an exceptional site for a data center, the AL.com report notes. Eyster himself has said the area is attractive for that kind of development because of the high-voltage transmission lines running through it. Still, nothing in the record confirms that a data center is actually planned, under contract, or tied to a specific operator for this site.
That hasn't stopped residents from organizing against the proposal. Trinity resident Raul Castillo filed a petition aimed at blocking the rezoning vote and giving the council more time to study the issue, WHNT reported in a separate report. Neighbors have pointed to a familiar list of worries tied to large industrial or data-center development: increased power demand, water consumption, noise and pollution, according to the same WHNT account.
Town Officials Say They Aren't Rushing
Trinity Mayor Vaughn Goodwin said the rezoning request has attracted considerable interest from residents, and that officials have spent the past several months hearing their questions and concerns. “We are not rushing through this process,” Goodwin said, according to AL.com. The town previously adopted steps, including a moratorium on data centers, to give officials time to gather information before deciding. That moratorium is set to be lifted in June 2027, per the same report.
This isn't the landowners' first attempt at the rezoning. The property went through the process once before, and landowners faced similar concerns from residents at an initial public hearing in June. They revised and resubmitted their application the following month, AL.com reported. Any final rezoning still requires approval from the Trinity Town Council, which has the sole authority to sign off on the change.
Part of a Bigger Alabama Pattern
Trinity's fight is unfolding against a broader statewide debate over data centers. At least 17 Alabama cities have joined roughly 130 communities nationwide that have considered or adopted temporary bans on data centers, according to the University of Virginia's Digital Technology for Democracy Lab, as cited by AL.com in a separate report. More than a dozen data-center developments are proposed or under construction across the state, with industry investment surpassing $63 billion, though that figure reflects proposed and under-construction projects rather than completed ones.
Elsewhere in Alabama, those fights have already played out at the ballot box. In Bessemer, five City Council members voted to approve rezoning for Project Marvel, a proposed 4.5-million-square-foot data center spanning 18 buildings, while two members voted against it, according to Inside Climate News. Land is also being optioned in Marengo and Hale counties for hyperscale data centers, with potential construction near Demopolis estimated at around 1,000 acres or more, the AL.com report on rural development noted.
Eyster's History With Rezoning Fights
Eyster has been through contentious rezoning battles before. In 2023, he sought to rezone his family's 32.78-acre Decatur property for apartments, but the Decatur City Council rejected that request amid neighborhood opposition, according to the Decatur Daily. He later returned with another rezoning request that fared better: Decatur's Planning Commission recommended it 5-2, and the City Council approved it 4-1, though that vote only cleared the way for him to pursue the project rather than approving a final development plan.
For now, Trinity's outcome remains undecided. Goodwin has said the town wants to reach a decision that benefits Trinity's future, seeking solutions that encourage growth while preserving residents' quality of life. Whether the council grants or denies the rezoning request won't be known until the Nov. 9 meeting.
