The data center proliferation in Lackawanna County is expanding in the Abingtons as a developer proposes a campus in Newton Twp.

Mark Gawron is seeking a zoning permit to build two data center buildings, each 35 feet high, 660 feet long and 220 feet wide, on his nearly 76-acre property on Newton Road. The proposed buildings would have a combined footprint of 290,400 square feet, according to the application.

The plans, which Gawron filed with the township under the name Popca LLC, also call for two generation yards, a well, septic tank, substation, guard building and two stormwater management facilities. He stated in the application the project will cost $280 million.

It does not specify how the proposed data center campus will be powered or cooled, or how loud it will be. The property does not contain wetlands and is not in a flood plain, the application states.

The plans are the second data center proposal in the Abingtons, following those filed late last year by Scranton Materials LLC for a data center campus at 819 Newton Road in Ransom Twp. — less than a mile from the Newton Twp. site. The plans are the first proposed in a municipality that is part of the Scranton-Abingtons Planning Association, a zoning collaborative that allows municipalities to share land uses. It is composed of Clarks Green, Clarks Summit, Dalton, Dunmore, Newton Twp., Scranton, South Abington Twp. and West Abington Twp.

Application rejected, appeal filed

Gawron purchased the property in 2017 from the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau. He registered the limited liability company with the Pennsylvania Department of State on Jan. 8, with a mailing address of 427 Main St. in the Eynon section of Archbald, according to a certificate of organization obtained by The Times-Tribune.

Gawron sold the land to the LLC he created one week later on Jan. 12 for $25,000, according to county property records.

He filed the application with the township Jan. 21, one week after selling the land. Scot Haan, the township’s zoning officer, denied his request in February because as a commercial land use, it is not allowed in the township. Haan added that as a member of the SAPA, Newton Twp. does not not have heavy commercial or industrial uses. The property is located in the township’s rural resource zoning district.

Normally, municipalities have to allow every type of land use within their boundaries, but a collaborative like SAPA requires only one municipality to allow a land use like data centers, meaning only one municipality in SAPA has to agree to accept them. For instance, because Dunmore has the Keystone Sanitary Landfill, none of the other SAPA communities have to allow landfills.

No municipality in SAPA has data centers outlined in their zoning, and there is also no language outlining data centers in the current SAPA comprehensive plan. Scranton City Council last month introduced a pair of ordinances from the administration of Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti to amend the city’s 2023 zoning to address potential data center proposals, and other municipalities in the collective are working on ordinances addressing data center development.

William and Brian Vinsko, the attorneys representing Gawron, appealed Haan’s decision last month. The township’s zoning hearing board will hear the appeal at a hearing April 27 at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Building, according to a legal notice in Friday’s edition of The Times-Tribune.

Data center development must be allowed

The attorneys argue Haan’s decision improperly excludes a legitimate land use, including data center development, in violation of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.

To maintain local control over developments, Lackawanna County communities have designated data centers as conditional uses, meaning developers would be required to go before a governing body at a public hearing while adhering to conditions established by the municipality.

The Vinskos contend that Haan did not identify a proper classification for the proposed data center under the township’s zoning ordinance, nor did he analyze whether it could be permitted by right, special exception or conditional use in any zoning district.

“The Zoning Ordinance is exclusionary in that it fails to provide for legitimate commercial and/or industrial uses, including but not limited to data centers, anywhere in the Township,” they write in the appeal.

The attorneys added the proposed use of the site for data center facilities and related infrastructure is similar to existing township zoning, which allows for commercial, institutional, utility-related or light industrial uses.

They argue that strict application of the ordinance imposes “unnecessary hardships” on the property, which they say is “uniquely suited” for the proposed use. The Vinskos stated the proposed data center will promote economic development and not adversely impact the surrounding properties or community.

The Vinskos ask the board in the appeal for relief to allow the plans to move forward, to grant the permit and declare the township zoning ordinance invalid.

William Vinsko said in a phone interview Monday his client wants to ensure the project has minimal impact on the community. He said Gawron plans to use water and electricity from local sources in a way that is economically feasible. It will also be minimally staffed, secured and set back far from the street and surrounding properties.

“We’re not looking to cause any problems with the community,” Vinsko said. “We’re not looking to cause any problems with the water, or the electric or any type of utilities there.”

He also said he wants to work with the township to come up with an plan to allow data centers that is acceptable for everyone.

Latest development

The plans are the latest in a slew of data center campuses that have been proposed throughout Lackawanna County since last year. Developers, including the ones in Newton and Ransom townships, have so far followed high-tension power lines in the hope of tapping those lines to fuel computer hardware needed to power artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Scranton Materials LLC filed a curative amendment, which challenged the validity of Ransom Twp.’s zoning ordinance, in November that would have allowed the construction of six data centers, each with a 156,648-square-foot footprint.

The township’s Board of Supervisors voted 2-1 in January to dismiss the proposed changes due to lack of testimony and evidence from Scranton Materials. Laura McGarry, who appeared on behalf of her mother, Susan Magnotta, a resident of Scranton’s Keyser Valley section, requested the motion.

The developer appealed the decision and filed a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment against the supervisors last month. Both the appeal and the lawsuit are ongoing.