A developer has applied to construct a 65,000-square-foot, two-story data center in Bethlehem, a city official disclosed this week.
Cathy Fletcher, Bethlehem’s director of planning and zoning, told The Morning Call in an email that city staff are reviewing plans for a data center in Lehigh Valley Industrial Park in south Bethlehem.
The application comes amid a data center boom in the Lehigh Valley and nationwide as technology companies try to keep up with the rapid growth in the artificial intelligence industry. But data center proposals, particularly “hyperscale” data centers that span millions of square feet and could use up to 2 gigawatts of electricity, have faced fierce backlash from community activists who argue that they cause harm to the environment and residents who live nearby.
With a 65,000-square-foot footprint, or 130,000 square feet across two floors, the proposed Bethlehem data center is substantially smaller than most other such facilities proposed in the Lehigh Valley, which range from 150,000 to 5 million square feet in size.
The city publicly disclosed the pending data center application at a city planning commission meeting Tuesday, where commissioners reviewed a proposed ordinance that would restrict where data centers could be constructed in the city.
Data centers are permitted by right in three of the city’s zoning districts: light industrial, industrial and planned industrial.
However, under the proposed zoning change, data centers would be permitted only in the industrial zoning district, and would require a special exception permit issued by the zoning hearing board.
Other restrictions under the proposed ordinance would include requiring a 200-foot building setback from any property line and at least a 1,000-foot setback from the property line of any “sensitive” use, which includes residential areas, schools, daycares, hospitals and community recreation centers.
The ordinance also requires data center developers to submit a series of detailed studies on the center’s impact on the electrical grid, waterways and wastewater disposal, environment, and noise and vibrations.
Cities in Pennsylvania are legally required to allow for all types of building uses in their borders, and thus cannot ban all data centers or other facilities outright, but zoning ordinances can restrict where they go and provide additional requirements for developers, Fletcher said.
Planning commission Chair Robert Melosky said the proposed zoning amendment on data centers is a “strong and thoughtful” proposal.
“I think the city has taken the right approach. We are not trying to prohibit an emerging technology or economic use, we are trying to establish reasonable standards,” Melosky said.
The zoning ordinance will be up for a public hearing Oct. 6 at City Hall, where residents can weigh in on the changes before City Council holds an official vote later this year.
However, because the data center proposal was submitted before Bethlehem passed its zoning ordinance, the new restrictions would not apply to the application. According to Fletcher, the developers agreed to voluntarily provide detailed noise, water, environmental and other studies in accordance with the new ordinance.
Fletcher did not disclose the developer behind the application or the exact address where the data center is proposed.
The Bethlehem Planning Commission could review the application as soon as its October meeting, Fletcher said.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.