ALLENTOWN, Pa.- A week after a divided Allentown City Council passed an ordinance to regulate data center development, members will come together to discuss proposed changes to that same bill.

Council has scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday, June 24, to review amendments to Bill 20, which council passed in a 4-2 vote on June 17.

Council members who voted against the bill, as well as many members of the public who spoke at the lengthy meeting, said they felt the original bill did not go far enough. A counterproposal- a curative amendment to place a moratorium on new applications for data centers for 180 days- failed.

The changes being proposed- grouped together as Bill 52- would add public notice requirements for data center proposals and also amend regulations tied to such projects under the city’s zoning code.

According to the public notice requirements being pitched, data center developers would have to hold a public meeting either prior to the first zoning hearing board meeting or the first planning commission meeting where the plans are discussed. 

“A representative(s) of the applicant with knowledge of the project and the ability to answer general questions from the public about the project’s general locations, scale, and parameters shall participate in the meeting,” Bill 52 reads.

Also, the developer would have to create and maintain a project website that includes details about the proposal, including maps, anticipated electrical use, and noise levels.

Among the building regulation changes being proposed are wider buffers; Bill 20 said data centers could not be within 200 feet of residential homes and other places like childcare facilities, but Bill 52 extends that distance to 500 feet.

Also, data centers with more than 50,000 square feet of indoor gross floor area would require a minimum lot area of 8 acres, up from 5 acres in the IG (Industrial General) zone.

Bill 52 also sets stricter standards for noise pollution, and requires developers to submit a decommission plan, should the data center cease operations.   

Neither Bill 20 nor Bill 52, should it pass, would apply to a data center proposal that’s already been pitched for the city’s southern end. Langan Engineering has submitted a plan to convert an existing warehouse at 2401 W. Emaus Ave. into a data center.

The 224,000 square-foot warehouse, which currently does not have a tenant, is across the street from the nonprofit Camelot for Children. There are also several standalone homes and an apartment complex nearby.

The Allentown Planning Commission was scheduled to review the proposal at its meeting on June 9, but the review was postponed at the applicant’s request. A new date has not been announced. 

The special city council meeting on June 24 begins at 5:45 p.m. inside council chambers at 435 Hamilton Street.