ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The list of Lehigh Valley municipalities working to regulate data centers continues to grow each month.
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission last month was working with officials in a handful of local communities to get new rules on the books, with developers eyeing data centers throughout the region.
That number now is in double digits, after the commission’s comprehensive committee met Tuesday to go over regulations under consideration in Lowhill, Bushkill, Washington and Plainfield townships.
LVPC so far has reviewed 11 data-center ordinances proposed by local officials, and regional planners expect to analyze two more proposals next month, LVPC Planner Mary Grace Collins said this week.
Lehigh Valley municipalities pursuing data center regulations are:
- Upper Mount Bethel Township
- Palmer Township (passed)
- South Whitehall Township
- North Whitehall Township (passed)
- Upper Macungie Township
- Upper Saucon Township (passed)
- Lower Saucon Township
- Upper Nazareth Township
- Lower Nazareth Township
- Plainfield Township
- Moore Township
- Chapman Township
- Allentown
A 'model' ordinance?
Many municipalities are positioning their ordinances to allow data centers — which underpin a world of online services and transactions — only by conditional use or special exception.
That would give a municipality’s “governing body additional oversight to evaluate project impacts on a case-by-case basis," Collins said.
It also would let them "determine the community needs and sensitivities and balance those with the needs for modern technological infrastructure,” she said.
“This is a very unique ordinance, and I expect it to be used across the state.”Mike Siegel, Lowhill Township’s manager and zoning officer
Local ordinances should be written to ensure communities have sufficient infrastructure capacity and can handle the extreme power and water needs of a data center, according to the LVPC’s review.
That can range from a microscale facility that supports small businesses to hyperscale facilities that power some of the world’s largest companies, the review said.
The commission also recommends municipalities implement noise limits, require large setbacks from other properties and encourage clean energy and sustainable building practices.
Regional planners commended Bushkill Township officials for enabling future solar energy facilities as part of its data center ordinance.
They also credited Washington Township’s requirement for an environmental impact assessment as a “strong” feature of its ordinance.
And Lowhill Township officials got praise for including provisions for hazardous-waste disposal.
Mike Siegel, Lowhill Township’s manager and zoning officer, urged LVPC planners to back his municipality’s “tough” standards on noise and landscaping.
Siegel said five other municipalities in northern Lehigh County — Slatington and Heidelberg, Lynn, Washington and Weisenberg townships — and beyond are looking to Lowhill Township’s proposed ordinance as a “model” for their own regulations.
“This is a very unique ordinance, and I expect it to be used across the state,” he said.
Proposals already in the works
Local officials in more than a dozen Lehigh Valley communities are set to continue crafting and fine-tuning their data center regulations as developers eye the region.
Air Products wants to build a data center complex covering 2.6 million square feet at its former headquarters in Upper Macungie.
A facility almost twice that size is being eyed on a lot across the street from Parkland High School in South Whitehall Township.
And Peron Development and J.G. Petrucci Company last month announced plans to build a data center campus in Lower Mount Bethel Township.
Allentown is the first city in the region to join the push to regulate data centers.
City Council this month introduced legislation that would add a slew of limitations on their size, location and operations.
If the ordinance is passed as proposed, data centers would be allowed only in industrial zones in Allentown.
It’s due to be reviewed by the LVPC and council members at upcoming meetings.
