Scranton continues to consider adopting rules to regulate potential data centers, but time is running out to enact pending legislation tabled since March, the mayor said.
While the city has not received any data center proposals, the introduction in March of data center regulations in two ordinances effectively “stopped the clock” on any speculative data center projects that might arise in Scranton, Mayor Paige Cognetti said in an announcement Wednesday.
That allowed city officials more time to craft the strongest protective zoning amendments regarding potential data centers, but those two proposed companion ordinances will expire at the end of this year if they are not enacted by the city before then, she said.
Properly regulating all development within city limits is critical because, by law, no municipality can legally exclude a single type of land use within its boundaries, the mayor said.
In March, Scranton City Council introduced two companion ordinances from the mayor to amend the city’s zoning ordinance to account for data centers. At that time, council tabled the legislation for further review by the city and to ensure new rules could withstand any potential legal challenges. Those ordinances have since remained tabled. In recent weeks, council members have asked about the status of the review.
On Tuesday, Cognetti administration officials and a representative from a consulting firm, Pittsburgh-based Environmental Planning & Design, attended a council caucus to discuss the issue.
“I have spent many hours in packed rooms with our neighbors throughout Lackawanna County as we have come together to stop reckless data center projects,” Cognetti said in a statement Wednesday.
“Widespread development of these facilities without proper safeguards would threaten Scranton’s environment, our quality of life, and the homes and businesses that have been built here over generations. We are ready to protect our city and will continue to work with other municipalities to determine best practices and make sure we are protecting our entire region.”
Scranton also is part of an intergovernmental cooperation agreement known as the Scranton-Abingtons Planning Association (SAPA), which allows for cooperative land use agreements across nine member municipalities — Scranton, Clarks Green, Clarks Summit, Dalton, Dunmore, Newton Twp., South Abington Twp., Waverly Twp. and West Abington Twp.
However, SAPA has not yet collectively addressed data center development. By amending Scranton’s zoning ordinance, city officials can protect residents and the environment proactively, rather than exposing the city to potentially dangerous proposals later, Cognetti said.
Under Scranton’s proposed regulations, data centers would be permitted in the city as a conditional use, not as a right, and each project would be subject to city approval. Data centers also would be limited in size and scope to protect Scranton from large-scale campuses commonly called “hyperscale” data centers, she said.
The city’s regulations would involve the following:
•Technical limitations would include floor area; restricted building heights; minimum setbacks from existing homes, residential districts, parks and more; maximum noise levels; regulation of supporting accessories including generators and battery storage; minimum renewable energy requirements; water conservation techniques; and specialized training for the Scranton Fire Department and other personnel to respond to emergency situations at future data center sites.
•A decommissioning plan, an environmental and community impact analysis, a stormwater management site plan, and several other reports and impact studies.
•Nondisclosure agreements would be prohibited — “there must be full transparency from the developer and end-user in order to propose any project,” Cognetti said.
On Tuesday, city Solicitor Jessica Eskra, city Business Administrator Eileen Cipriani and consultant Carolyn Yagle of Environmental Planning & Design attended the council caucus, according to an Electric City Television simulcast and video of the meeting posted on YouTube.
The city’s proposal calls for creating a zoning overlay or special type of zoning called a “Technology and Energy Overlay District,” to allow Type 1 data centers of 2-megawatt capacity or less, and prohibit larger Type 2 data centers greater than 2 MW at full buildout.
Law requires a fair share of 5% to 7% of the city’s total area to permit data centers, they told council.
“A municipality needs to accommodate the use, it does not need to accommodate all scales of a use. It needs to accommodate the operations and those mechanisms, and the way in which we can consider these types of things is both with that energy draw or power need as well as square footage or types of scale to that development,” Yagle said.
Cipriani noted the 5-7% does not have to be vacant spaces and could be already occupied. Council President Tom Schuster asked where the overlay would go. Yagle said the overlay would involve industrial areas — and not residential areas.
Eskra said: “We did not take the approach of doing a blanket amendment to the zoning code, where they could be permissible anywhere. What we are contemplating and proposing is an overlay. In that overlay we will pick certain areas or districts. A map would be formulated at that point. Based on the regulations, once we get through crafting those, have your feedback, your input on those, then we can create this overlay map and we can ensure it is only 5-7% of the city’s entire geography.”
The administration goal is to get regulations enacted before the pending ordinances expire, Eskra said.
Councilman Sean McAndrew asked what took the administration so long, from March until now, to present this update to council. Cipriani and Eskra noted the city was monitoring various state bills on the issue of data centers that could impact what the city does, as well as Gov. Josh Shapiro’s executive order on data centers issued in August.
“This body of work is constantly evolving,” Cipriani said. “What we wanted to do is to make sure we put together the most comprehensive piece of legislation to come here to be able to protect the city of Scranton from data centers, in particular speculative data centers, which have been a very significant problem, especially in the northeast section of Pennsylvania.”
Eskra said, “This is something that we need to get right.”