Officials from the Plymouth Township Council delivered an announcement about a proposed data center in their community on Monday afternoon.

According to council chair Lynne Viscio, an developer reaching out to the township to ask if a data center would be permitted at 900 Conshohocken Road that used to house Cleveland-Cliffs Plate Finishing.

Township leaders told the developer that they would reject a data center at this location because it does not fall into the category of warehouse or distribution center as set by zoning.

Chair Viscio then explained that the applicant submitted a proposal but withdrew that before submitting a second proposal.

In response to this application, the township expressed concerns over the use and asked the applicant to respond to their concerns. Also, township leadership said they wanted the public to participate in the process.

According to township leaders, the applicant rejected their concerns so officials said they will continue to oppose the application.

Then, the applicant submitted a third proposal as a way to apparently challenge the validity of the zoning ordinance.

“This is a blatant attempt by the applicant to demand approval by throwing a tantrum. The township is not interested in entertaining such theatrics,” Viscio said.

900 Conshohocken Road LLC, owned by Brian O’Neill, is behind this application as well as a proposed data center in King of Prussia that has drawn scrutiny.

What is a data center?

Data centers are facilities used to house computer systems and serve as infrastructure for storing and processing information.

They also support the global financial system, cloud services, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Rising electricity costs and a strain on electric grids fueled by the growth of the AI industry have led to significant backlash to new data centers from communities across the country, including towns and neighborhoods in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Critics of data centers have expressed concerns about their environmental impact. Earlier in May, a group of New Jersey environmental, labor and community leaders sent a letter asking Gov. Sherrill for a moratorium on the approval and construction of new facilities that use 20 megawatts of power or more, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.