Penn Township adopts ordinance restricting data center development
PENN TOWNSHIP — After four months of work by the land use administrator, the township’s board of supervisors held a public hearing on and then voted to adopt a new ordinance which carves out only a narrow allowance for data centers in Penn Township.
The ordinance, which was officially adopted Tuesday, Oct. 13, does not forbid data center development in Penn Township, but imposes restrictions on where and how data center developers are allowed to build and operate.
Under the terms of the ordinance, data centers are only allowed as a conditional use in the I-L, or limited industrial, zoning district. The I-L zoning district consists of only a few areas of Penn Township, primarily in the north near the border with Butler Township.
This means any developer looking to bring a data center to Penn Township would need to go through a conditional use hearing to prove they are meeting the standards set out in the zoning ordinance.
“They’re not permitted by right,” land use administrator Philip Mangis III said. “In order for them to come into the industrial district, they have to follow the conditions outlined in the ordinance.”
The most important condition, according to Mangis, is a requirement developers connect to public water and sewage. Mangis said this will avoid the risk of having developers consuming water from local wells, which most residents of Penn Township use for their water supply.
“Some ordinances I saw allow (developers) to access well water,” Mangis said. “For our sake, to lessen the risk of them consuming the well water and impacting surrounding areas, we figured it would be easier and less impactful if they have to hook up to already existing water lines.”
The ordinance also requires data center properties keep noise levels below 65 decibels during the day or 55 decibels at night. Those maximum levels are reduced to 55 and 45, respectively, for any data centers that may border a “sensitive receptor” — defined in the ordinance as any structure especially sensitive to excess noise, such as homes, schools, daycares, hospitals, parks and places of worship, among others.
According to Mangis, developers will also be required to provide their own power on-site. If that is not possible, the developer can also request an interconnection agreement with the local power company, provided the power grid can handle the capacity requested by the developer.
Developers will also need to submit a variety of impact analyses and studies, including a comprehensive fiscal audit and a valid Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory Survey to verify that the proposed development poses no risk to endangered species.
During Tuesday’s meeting, township personnel said no proposals had come forward by any developers for a data center in Penn Township yet.
“No one has proposed anything,” Mangis said. “This is a pre-emptive strike.”
“This is not being done in response to a pending data center proposal,” township solicitor Anthony Cosgrove said. “There is nothing currently being talked about that any of us know about in the township. This is being done proactively.”
Cosgrove also addressed any residents who may have been concerned the township was permitting data center development anywhere at all.
“We're not necessarily allowing the use. The use is always going to be allowed,” Cosgrove said. “A township cannot exclude a use from its boundaries. The best we can do is impart regulations or restrictions upon a use to try to protect the general public and most people's property. That's ultimately what this ordinance is designed to do.”
