PECKVILLE, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — Stop Archbald Data Centers organizers held a public information session Monday at the Valley Community Library, aiming to answer questions about proposed data center development in and around Archbald and what residents can do next.
About 80 people packed into the library for the session. A panel of five speakers walked through common questions, then addressed additional questions submitted through an online form before opening the floor to the audience.
Organizers said they scheduled the session after seeing repeated questions in the Stop Archbald Data Centers Facebook group and hearing similar questions in person. The group has about 7,900 members, and a petition circulating at the event had more than 750 signatures.
Panelists also fielded legal and zoning questions, focusing on what they called responsible zoning and where data centers can be allowed under borough rules. They said their goal is to limit large facilities to appropriate industrial land, away from neighborhoods, schools and other community spaces.
Organizers described the meeting as an informal discussion and said they are not elected officials, lawyers, or utility employees. They asked attendees to be patient as the group works to keep up with information.
Jack Swingle, a volunteer with Stop Archbald Data Centers, said organizers wanted residents to have clear information about what’s being proposed and how borough zoning applies before future hearings, where he said questions often go unanswered.
“I’m hoping they realize it’s not a done deal, the data centers. There’s a chance we can do something, but we have to do it collectively. We have to be informed. We have to know the facts and then deal with the facts. Together, I think we can make a difference,” said Swingle.
The session laid out two borough zoning frameworks that apply to data centers, including a 2023 ordinance process and a 2025 zoning amendment that follows a conditional use process with public hearings. A land use appeal filed Dec. 23, 2025, is under review in Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.
The panel also walked through several projects and where they stand in the borough process, including projects labeled Gravity and Boson, and stressed that preliminary approvals do not mean a project is approved to build. Panelists said Archbald 1 LLC has two projects for the same property under the 2023 zoning and the 2025 zoning, and that an Archbald 1 LLC conditional use under the 2025 amendment was denied at a March 27, 2026, special meeting, with developers likely to appeal.
Organizers told residents with additional questions to follow the Stop Archbald Data Centers public Facebook group, and said a website is being built to centralize project information. The group also pointed residents to the borough website for meeting notices and zoning materials, and promoted fundraising for legal expenses, including a GoFundMe and an April 24 fundraiser at The Moontower Bar and Grill.