LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. – Data center proposals have been keeping local planners busy lately.
They’re reviewing not only plans for the centers themselves, but also proposals for updated zoning ordinances as local municipalities scramble to put guardrails in place.
So far, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC) has reviewed or will review a total of 16 ordinances put forth by municipalities across Lehigh and Northampton counties.
They are:
Several of those proposals were on Tuesday’s agenda for the LVPC’s Comprehensive Planning Committee meeting.
Before diving into the individual ordinances, LVPC Community and Regional Planner Mary Grace Collins explained how the body evaluates them.
They recommend establishing data centers as a conditional or special exception use- not a by-right use- in appropriate districts, as well as providing regulations for electrical demand and requiring the disclosure of the water source that will be used for cooling.
“Other environmental regulations we typically recommend include provisions for onsite power generation like geothermal or solar, showing verifiable power purchase agreements for renewable or clean energy and pursuing sustainable building design practices like LEED certification for the buildings themselves,” said Collins.
Additional regulations recommended by the LVPC focus on the building’s design and noise pollution; for the latter, planners advise limiting noise at the property line to 55 decibels.
Landscape buffers are also recommended to minimize the visual impact of the buildings.
Major data center project approved
On Tuesday night, Allen Township supervisors approved final land development plans to convert an existing, one-million-square-foot warehouse at 2500 Liberty Drive into a data center.
Several other hyperscale data center proposals have surfaced in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding area:
Peron Development and J.G. Petrucci Company want to build a data center campus in Lower Mount Bethel Township.
Air Products has proposed a data center complex at its former headquarters in Upper Macungie Township.
The Atlas Industrial data center project calls for six buildings across the street from Parkland High School in South Whitehall Township.
The Project Laurel data center campus in Limerick Township, Montgomery County includes eight buildings.
According to the citizen-run Track Data Centers group, there are 57 proposed data centers across Pennsylvania.