UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa.- It’s not quite business as usual for the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC), as it begins the process of reviewing a proposal for a massive data center in Lehigh County. 

At 2.6 million square feet, the three-building complex on the former Air Products headquarters site in Upper Macungie is obviously a big project, something the LVPC refers to as a “land use of regional significance.” The agency reviews these types of projects all the time. 

But the proposal, which would bring about the first colossal center of this type in the Lehigh Valley, is a little different. And so the LVPC is conducting its review a little differently. “We’re actually going to invite some partners to the table that we don’t normally bring into this because of what data centers actually are and what they actually need, which includes PPL, who is the electric services provider in this location,” said LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley during a meeting of the Comprehensive Planning Committee on Tuesday.

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LVPC

The LVPC officially received the proposal last Thursday. That same day, Bradley talked to 69 News about the inevitable arrival of data centers in the Lehigh Valley, saying the LVPC already has gotten wind of eight locations being eyed by developers. 

“We are being very active in our effort to get in front of these and not simply just be a review partner, but to be a partner to the local government in these very, very, very large ones that are coming to our region,” Bradley told the Comprehensive Planning Committee.

Earlier in the meeting, during a separate review of a general zoning ordinance amendment pertaining to data centers in Upper Macungie, LVPC Chair Dr. Chris Amato raised concerns about possible health impacts tied to the facilities. “I have read some evidence that suggests that people within 300 feet of a data center can have an increased incidence of heart attack and stroke, just due to the volume that comes from some of these things,” he said. 

Amato, a chiropractor, didn’t elaborate on what specific research he was citing, but the National Institutes of Health is among the agencies that have linked long-term exposure to environmental noise with cardiovascular events.

The Upper Macungie zoning ordinance calls for data centers to be set back from property lines by at least 200 feet; Amato suggested upping that to 300 feet. The LVPC, in its review, did suggest that the township be clear about making sure a 65-decibel noise limit is extended to the centers.

Other suggestions for the township include setting height limits and parking standards for data centers and including provisions for on-site power generation.

Several municipalities in the Lehigh Valley have approved or in the process of approving formal guidelines for data centers. Those municipalities include South Whitehall Township, Palmer Township, and Upper Mount Bethel Township. Â