Dickson City will have the opportunity Wednesday to defend its decision to deny four Bell Mountain data centers.
The Dickson City Zoning Hearing Board will reconvene at 5 p.m. in the Municipal Building, 901 Enterprise St., for its second hearing on Dickson City Development LLC’s appeal seeking to overturn the borough’s denial of its applications to build data centers above Business Route 6, according to a public noticed published May 13 in The Times-Tribune.
Representatives with Dickson City Development, a firm linked to Kriger Construction Inc., initially went before the zoning hearing board April 29, but the developer and borough officials agreed to reconvene the hearing after about 2½ hours of testimony.
Attorney Michael Mey, left, looks on as Dickson City Solicitor Bill Jones instructs subject matter witness Jennifer Leonard to draw data center sites on a map during a zoning hearing Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at the Dickson City Borough Building. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)
The hearing adjourned after Dickson City Development’s attorney, Michael Mey, concluded his arguments but before Dickson City Solicitor Bill Jones could present his own case defending the borough’s decision.
Wednesday’s hearing follows a defeat last week for Dickson City Development after the zoning hearing board unanimously voted to deny the developer’s substantive validity challenge that sought to overturn Dickson City’s data center zoning ordinance that regulates the industry.
About the developer
Dickson City Development filed four zoning permit applications Jan. 13, each for an individual data center across a roughly 1.5-mile stretch of Bell Mountain above Business Route 6. Other limited liability companies affiliated with Kriger Construction applied with the borough in March to build at least three power plants on land near the proposed data centers. The zoning hearing board will consider those special exception applications June 10 at 6 p.m. in the Borough Building, according to a public notice published Tuesday in The Times-Tribune.
Dickson City Development and the limited liability companies for the power plants, named Dickson City Power One, Dickson City Power Two and Dickson City Power Three, all filed applications using the address 99 Power Blvd., Archbald, which is the same address as Kriger Construction and its affiliated NEPA Asphalt & Concrete plant. Kriger Vice President David Stiles signed all four data center applications, and his email address with Kriger Construction’s phone number are the provided contact information in the power plant applications. Three $575 checks attached to the power plants’ zoning hearing applications are from Kriger Construction.
Kriger Construction Inc. Vice President David Stiles, who signed Essential Energy LLC’s conditional use application, looks on during a conditional use hearing in the Valley View High School auditorium in Archbald to consider the 400-megawatt natural gas power plant on Thursday, May 21, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)
Stiles and Kriger Construction President Jim Marzolino also signed applications for a 400-megawatt Essential Energy LLC natural gas power plant on Eynon Jermyn Road in Archbald, and Marzolino is developing a nearly 620,000-square-foot Project Boson data center across from the power plant in Archbald.
Project background
In Dickson City, the data centers would be located on four properties, with footprints ranging from close to 108,000 square feet to 147,000 square feet.
A marked-up zoning map showing the locations of data centers during a zoning hearing Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at the Dickson City Borough Building. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)
From west to east, those are:
• A 147,000-square-foot footprint data center near residences on Bell Mountain just east of McLean Street. The land is owned by Mountainview DC Realty LLC, 859 Enterprise St., Dickson City. The borough’s solicitor argued last month that the data center falls into a single-family residential zone, not the highway commercial zone the developer cited in its application.
• A 107,820-square-foot footprint data center just above Cold Spring Road on land owned by Fore Up Realty, 859 Enterprise St., Dickson City. Marzolino most recently signed an assignment of rents and leases as the manager of Fore Up last year, according to the document recorded with the Lackawanna County recorder of deeds on March 25, 2025.
• A 147,000-square-foot footprint data center on the Circle Drive-In’s property above Business Route 6. Scranton Circle Drive In Company Inc., 11 Hendrick Lane, Carbondale, owns the property.
•A 147,000-square-foot footprint data center on a parcel east of the drive-in on land owned by HFS Realty, 1501 Albright Ave., Scranton.
Dickson City Zoning Officer James Damski denied all four applications, prompting the developer to appeal and take the case to the zoning hearing board. His denial cited insufficient plans and a then-pending ordinance regulating data centers and prohibiting their development above Business Route 6.
Zoning dispute
The crux of the zoning debate stems from Dickson City’s previous zoning terminology and a zoning amendment adopted by council Feb. 12 that regulated data centers as special exceptions in the borough’s light manufacturing district, which encompasses Enterprise Street near Eagle Lane and undeveloped land southeast of Railroad Street.
Prior to the amendment, the borough’s zoning ordinance permitted “data processing and record storage” facilities in its highway commercial zones, which include the land immediately above Business Route 6 where Dickson City Development wants to build its data centers. The developer’s attorneys believe “data processing and record storage” includes data centers, while borough officials argue the language, which predates data centers, refers to back-office operations like an insurance company’s claims processing.
Dickson City initiated the zoning amendment process in November, and borough officials contend a pending ordinance doctrine allowed them to apply those new restrictions to any applications received between November and Feb. 12 when council adopted the zoning amendment.
Dickson City Development appealed the ordinance to the borough’s zoning hearing board and the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.
Although the developer lost its validity challenge with the zoning hearing board last week, its appeal is still active in court. It also has the option to appeal last week’s denial to the court of common pleas.
Hearing recap
Maps guided last month’s hearing.
Mey and Jones spent much of the hearing at odds over zoning maps, debating the qualifications of one of Mey’s subject matter experts to address the data center sites on maps, the accuracy and validity of Dickson City zoning maps displayed during the presentation, the size of the plans submitted to the borough, and even where Dickson City Development obtained the zoning map that served as the foundation for its applications.
Mey called two witnesses: Stiles, who cited his role at Kriger and 20 years of experience in construction, and Jennifer Leonard, a senior program manager and practice leader at Mechanicsburg-based KCI Technologies who oversaw the preparation of the applications and plans.
(Left to right) Dickson City Development LLC attorney Michael Mey, senior program manager Jennifer Leonard of KCI Technologies and Kriger Construction Vice President David Stiles prepare for their presentation during a zoning hearing Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at the Dickson City Borough Building. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)
Mey concluded his presentation last month by contending to the board that Leonard’s testimony addressed every deficiency cited in the borough’s denial, as well as arguing that the borough’s data center zoning ordinance didn’t actually repeal provisions in the previous zoning that the developer contends allows it to develop data centers on Bell Mountain.
When the hearing reconvenes, Jones will have the opportunity to present his own witnesses to testify why the borough believes it was justified in denying the applications. Mey can then cross-examine Jones’ witnesses, followed by testimony from residents before the board renders a decision.
Dickson City Solicitor Bill Jones, standing, speaks during a zoning hearing Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at the Dickson City Borough Building. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)