ALLENTOWN, Pa.- Tuesday was “data center day” for the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC).

The comment from Stephen Melnick was made somewhat in jest, but it was an accurate description of the topic that dominated the monthly meeting of the LVPC’s comprehensive planning committee.

Item number one on the agenda, referred to by committee Chairman Melnick as the “800-pound elephant in the room,” was the massive Atlas Industrial data center campus proposed for South Whitehall Township.

As 69 News previously reported, plans call for six buildings totaling 5,038,100 square feet spread across 410 acres at 2493 N. Cedar Crest Blvd.

The land is currently undeveloped agricultural fields across from Parkland High School. 

In their prepared review, the LVPC’s planners raised concerns or made recommendations in several areas, including noise, emissions, stresses on the power grid and water supply, and the extensive presence of karsts (surface depressions) throughout the site.

When it was their turn to speak, LVPC commissioners echoed some of those same concerns. “We just don’t have the infrastructure. I just want to put that out there, because we’re not ready,” said Chris Amato.

Then members of the public got their turn to weigh in. About a dozen people who live in or near South Whitehall raised a hand to speak during the virtual meeting; all were united in their opposition to the project.

“There’s going to be protests if this continues because this is not something that is going to benefit our health, our welfare, our families or anyone,” said Carla Lindenmuth, a South Whitehall resident.

Yvette Kuhns, who also lives in the township, said she was concerned about the impact on the environment: “Once somebody makes the decision to do this, we can’t go back. We can’t fix the land. The land will be polluted. The air will be a mess.”

Joel Gilley’s home is across the street from the proposed campus. He was blunt in his assessment. “I don’t want it in my backyard, and I don’t want it in my front yard, which is what it would be,” he said.

Several of the speakers referenced an open space referendum that passed in South Whitehall last November, with nearly 74 percent of those who voted saying ‘yes’ to adopting a 0.1% Earned Income Tax increase dedicated exclusively to open space protection and conservation.

The property being eyed for the data center is on private land and cannot be earmarked for conservation by the township. But the number of voters who supported the referendum is an indicator of the overall sentiment in the township, argued resident Spurgeon Dunbar. “Do we think that the public wants this? As a voter in South Whitehall, I can absolutely say I do not want this in my backyard. I do not want this across from the high school where my kids will go to high school.”

South Whitehall Director of Community Development David Manhardt also attended the meeting. “The project is currently under our local review cycle,” he said. “All of the information and concerns provided in the (LVPC) letter and in this meeting will be incorporated into our review.”

The township’s planning commission will review the plans on February 12, Manhardt said.

After the public discussion, the committee voted to advance the draft review, with some amended language, to the full LVPC.

Other communities preparing for data centers

The comprehensive planning committee also reviewed two zoning ordinances that apply specifically to future data center development.

Upper Saucon Township and North Whitehall Township are the latest two Lehigh Valley municipalities to take steps to put guardrails in place, should a data center proposal be in their futures.

The ordinances would add data centers as a conditional use in certain zoning districts in the townships. They also set standards for landscaping, parking, environmental impacts and other considerations.

The full LVPC will meet at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 22. The meeting will be held virtually, and the public is invited to join. The link can be found on the LVPC’s website.  Â