The developer behind a massive data center project proposed for land across the street from Parkland High School in South Whitehall got an earful from residents Thursday after presenting their proposal to the township planning commission.
Representatives from Atlanta-based Edged US clicked through a slideshow filled with statistics purporting to show how little negative impact their $8.9 million project would have on the community, how much tax money the data center would generate, and offered a “if not us than who” scenario in which the 410-acre tract might be turned into a high-traffic industrial/warehouse complex if their plan was rejected.
Residents who packed the Springhouse Middle School auditorium, where the planning commission meeting was moved in anticipation of the large turnout, weren’t buying it.
“This is just the rich man wanting what he wants, and thinking we are stupid and will be falling for this. Our politicians better start working for us, especially our local politicians,” said Susan Shearer.
“There is no amount of money in the world that is worth the health and well being of its citizens,” said Kevin Kelley, as the audience broke into applause. “Planning commission, this is your moment! Prove to yourselves and this community why you’re here!”
No decision was made Thursday on Project Atlas, which, if approved, will be built on land off North Cedar Crest Boulevard. The application includes three data center buildings totaling approximately 1.48 million square feet along with a 40,680-square-foot administration building and a 39,167-square-foot warehouse building, for a total of approximately 1.56 million square feet.
Several of the people who lined up at the podium were members of the South Whitehall Civic Alliance, a nonprofit formed to fight the project. Their attorney, Jason Ulrich, asked the Edged US representatives to agree to a public hearing to have their data analyzed by independent experts.
When the developers didn’t respond to Ulrich’s request, the crowd booed loudly.
“There’s a reason they’re not answering these questions,” Ulrich said, and called for township officials to convene the hearing he suggested.
The land where the data center is proposed sits in South Whitehall’s Planned Innovation, Research and Technology overlay, an area specifically zoned to attract tech development.
During their presentation, Edged US officials promised that the data center would not cause residents’ electric bills to rise and said they would invest money to improve electric access for the surrounding community. Bats that roost in trees on the property would be moved, nearly 29 acres of parkland would be donated to the township, and a historic barn on the building site would be restored.
The developers said the data center would bring in $11.5 million in taxes annually for Parkland School District.
Community members had other concerns. Tara Houser, who said she lived 290 feet from the project site, questioned the developer’s studies that showed the land was appropriate for data center use. Houser spoke about several sinkholes that had opened up around her home, and likened the construction and operation of the facility to an “acoustic jackhammer” that would cause the land to become more unstable.
Houser noted that, in addition to the high school, there are more than 300 houses and a nursing home adjacent to the building site.
“The developer wants you to believe this is a quiet harmless neighbor. That is a lie dictated by physics,” Houser said.
Alice Lenthe, a retired environmental engineer, likened data centers to fracking and reminded planning commission members of the negative environmental impact of that industry. She urged the panel to reject the project and not allow South Whitehall residents to be “guinea pigs” while the health concerns of living near data centers are still being studied.
Lila Furst, a rising senior at Parkland High School, sat in the front row of the auditorium holding a sign showing a Google response to the question of how data centers can harm high school students.
“If you LOVE Ai soooo much, then listen to it. Stop Ai data centers in PA. Get Ai out of schools,” her sign read.
A second planning commission meeting on the project will be held at a later date, officials said.