You are reading about the Calvert proposal, decided by the county. The Prichard proposal is decided by the city council. Switch to the Prichard City Council →
No zoning, so the levers are money, roads, and permits.
Mobile County's own Development and Zoning page states plainly: "There is no zoning in the unincorporated areas of Mobile County." Alabama counties can only zone where the Legislature specifically authorizes it, and here it hasn't, so the county cannot block a data center by refusing to rezone, because there is nothing to rezone. Land development instead runs through a two-step administrative sequence: a commercial site-plan review (the land-disturbance permit) and a building permit.1,2
- ATax abatements: the biggest lever. A Chapter 9B / Act 2012-210 abatement of non-educational sales, use, and property taxes goes to the Commission and/or the Industrial Development Authority of Mobile County, and appears on a public agenda. This is the clearest chokepoint: what does the county give away, and what does it get in writing?
- BRoads & infrastructure. A 650-acre site off a two-lane highway needs county road, access, and drainage approvals, all county-controlled and public.
- CLand-disturbance & site permits. Planning & Development and Inspection Services issue the site and building permits, with stormwater standards.
- DState PSC review. If the contract is 150 MW or more, SB270 (§37-4-22.1) makes it a "Large Load Data Center Customer," triggering Public Service Commission review of the utility contract.
A narrow Highway 43 zoning body that an industrial-park designation switches off.
There is a single exception to "no zoning." The North Mobile County Planning & Zoning Commission (Act 2009-782, Ala. Code §§45-49-261 to 45-49-261.17) has authority only over land that is (a) in Commission District 1, (b) within a quarter-mile of U.S. Highway 43, and (c) inside a district where local electors have already voted to activate zoning. The Beacon site, "off Highway 43 near Calvert," falls in that corridor.2
But §45-49-261.17 says that planning commission "shall not apply to any land designated as an industrial park." On June 22, 2026 the County Commission heard a petition to designate an industrial park, filed by David Wallace Rivers, Clearwater Land & Minerals LLC (a Wyoming land-assembly LLC registered in Alabama in December 2025), and Down Home Plantation LLC. If that petition covers the Beacon land (plausible on timing and structure, though no public document confirms it), the designation would exempt the parcel from the one zoning body that could review it, routing the project into by-right site and building permits. Confirm by parcel ID.2,3
Three commissioners: two of three is a majority.
Calvert is in northern Mobile County, which most likely falls in District 1 (Ludgood); District 3 (Dueitt) borders the coastlines to the south. Confirm against the county's official district map before assigning outreach. Either way, any county decision needs a majority of the three on the record, not one.3
The abatement is where the public gets a vote: watch the agendas.
Any Chapter 9B abatement goes to the County Commission or the Industrial Development Authority of Mobile County and must be voted on at an open meeting. As of July 1, 2026, no abatement has been filed for Beacon. In its Tom Green County, Texas project, Beacon told commissioners it was "not seeking tax abatements," but whether that stance holds in Calvert is undocumented. Because the abatement is negotiated with staff and economic-development officers before it reaches an agenda, the decisive window is the weeks before the vote is posted, when residents can request the cost/benefit analysis and draft agreement through open records.3,4
What to put to the commission.
Does the June 22 industrial-park petition cover the Beacon land?
If it does, it exempts the parcel from the one body that could review it, so the parcel ID and the petition's metes-and-bounds matter.
What abatement or infrastructure agreement is being sought?
For how long, worth how much in foregone local revenue, and with what written claw-backs?
Has the SB270 review been triggered?
If the load is 150 MW or more, has the Public Service Commission reviewed the utility contract in the public interest?
Where do all three commissioners stand?
A county decision needs a majority on the record, so pin each commissioner's position, not just the district that holds the site.
Every claim, sourced.
- Mobile County: Development and Zoning page ("there is no zoning in the unincorporated areas of Mobile County"), mobilecountyal.gov.
- "How Large Industrial & Data-Center Projects Get Approved in Mobile County and Prichard" (2026): Ala. Code §§45-49-261 to 45-49-261.17 (North Mobile County Planning & Zoning Commission; industrial-park exemption at §45-49-261.17); two-step county permitting; Ala. Code §37-4-22.1 (SB270, ≥150 MW).
- "Beacon Data Centers – Calvert, Mobile County, Alabama" briefing (2026): Mobile County Commission agenda 2026-06-22 (industrial-park petition: David Wallace Rivers, Clearwater Land & Minerals LLC, Down Home Plantation LLC), agenda PDF; Mobile County "Meet the Commissioners" (Ludgood D1, Hudson D2 President, Dueitt D3), mobilecountyal.gov.
- Beacon presentation to Tom Green County, TX (Concho Observer, 2026-06-02, "not seeking tax abatements"); Alabama Dept. of Revenue, Chapter 9B Abatements, revenue.alabama.gov.
Items shown as "most likely" or unconfirmed are being verified before they are stated as fact. This page updates as sources are confirmed.
Next.
Who decides in Prichard
The Edged site is on city-owned land: Prichard has zoning, a council, and mandatory public hearings.
→Meetings & calendar
When each body meets, how to speak, and the Open Meetings Act rules that guarantee you a seat.
→The Calvert proposal
What Beacon has proposed, what it promises, and what is still unanswered.