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The decision is now in the Council's hands, with no set date.
After the packed, mostly opposed town hall on June 11, 2026, Mayor Carletta Davis said "the community has spoken very loudly" and that the decision is now with the Prichard City Council, with no set date for a vote. She framed the project as something "brought to us when we first got here," not started by her administration.1
One feature makes Prichard's leverage unusually strong. The site at 214 Telegraph Road is a former city-owned 911 data center, city land. That likely means the Council controls the land deal itself (a sale or lease), not only zoning, which is a firmer chokepoint than a normal zoning fight. As of late June 2026, no formal resolution had been presented to the Council, so there is no pending vote at this time, but "no set date" means an item could appear on an agenda with little notice, so agendas should be watched weekly.1,2
Five single-member districts. This is who votes.
One member is on record opposed; the other four have not stated a public position. Finding out where Districts 2, 4, and 5 stand, and which district the 214 Telegraph Road parcel actually sits in, is the most useful thing residents can learn next. (A stray election snippet listing at-large "Place 3" candidates is erroneous: Prichard uses districts, and the official city roster above is authoritative.)1,3
A land deal, a rezoning, or a permit, and it changes the fight.
Still open: it has not been confirmed whether the eventual action is (a) a sale or lease of the city-owned land, (b) a rezoning, or (c) a development or permit approval. Whichever it is determines the vote residents would be trying to influence.1,2
If a rezoning is needed, Alabama law (Ala. Code §11-52-79) requires the city's planning commission to hold a public hearing and submit a final report before the Council may act, a mandatory advisory step, though the Council is not bound by the recommendation. That is a second guaranteed public-comment venue on top of the Council hearing.2
If the use is already permitted by-right, no rezoning hearing is triggered and the developer proceeds straight to permits. Which applies here is not publicly confirmed; Prichard's zoning use-table for 214 Telegraph Road could not be verified from primary sources, and MEJAC notes Prichard lacks the protective zoning that exists on the City of Mobile side.2
The parcel straddles two cities, and Edged can choose the weaker one.
The 214 Telegraph Road parcel sits mostly in Prichard, with about 11% in the City of Mobile along the Norfolk Southern rail line. On the Mobile side, "Data Processing, Hosting and Related Services (including Data Centers)" is not a permitted use in R-1, Mobile's most restrictive residential district. Edged can render Mobile's permitting moot simply by keeping the entire footprint inside Prichard, which has no comparable protective zoning. That choice, and which Prichard council district holds the parcel, are both still open.2
Because Prichard has a council, it has real tools.
- AThe land deal. If the city sells or leases its former 911 site, that is a Council vote, and terms (price, claw-backs, conditions) can be negotiated in public. The strongest single chokepoint.
- BZoning / rezoning. If the use is not already permitted, a rezoning triggers a mandatory planning-commission hearing and a Council public hearing under §11-52-77 and §11-52-79.
- CA municipal moratorium. Under Title 11 police powers, an Alabama city council can pause data-center applications to allow a study period. Four Alabama cities (Cullman, Birmingham, Leeds, and Homewood) did exactly this in 2026; Cullman's Resolution 2026-116 is a near plug-and-play template. It is a legislative act, so it does not require the case-specific due process a project denial would.
What to put to your council member.
Where do Districts 2, 4, and 5 stand?
One member is on record opposed. Ask the other four to state a public position before any vote.
What exactly will the Council vote on?
A land sale or lease, a rezoning, or a permit? The answer sets the target and the timeline.
Is the city land being sold or leased below market?
Below-market public land is a subsidy like a tax break, with the same case for written claw-backs.
Will the Council consider a moratorium?
Any one member can place a moratorium resolution on the agenda, following the template four Alabama cities used in 2026.
Every claim, sourced.
- NBC15, "'The community has spoken'…," 2026-06-11, mynbc15.com; FOX10, "Residents voice concerns… packed town hall," 2026-06-11. Mayor Davis: decision now with the Council, no set date; District 1 (Williams) opposed on record.
- "How Large Industrial & Data-Center Projects Get Approved in Mobile County and Prichard" (2026): Ala. Code §§11-52-70 to 11-52-85 (municipal zoning), §11-52-79 (mandatory planning-commission report), §40-9B-5(d); the 89%/11% Prichard–Mobile parcel split and R-1 use table (per MEJAC); moratorium precedent (Cullman Resolution 2026-116; Birmingham, Leeds, Homewood, 2026).
- City of Prichard, City Council roster, thecityofprichard.org (five single-member districts).
Members' positions are shown only where they are on the public record; "not on the public record" means exactly that, not that a position has been taken privately. This page updates as positions are stated publicly.
Next.
Who decides in the county
The Beacon site is in unincorporated Mobile County: no zoning, three commissioners, and one narrow exception.
→Meetings & calendar
When each body meets, how to speak, and the Open Meetings Act rules that guarantee you a seat.
→The six issues
Power, water, diesel, noise, taxes, and jobs: what the record says.