{"id":120329,"date":"2026-02-22T06:16:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T06:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/120329\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T06:16:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T06:16:15","slug":"lackawanna-county-communities-told-to-address-data-centers-on-their-own","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/120329\/","title":{"rendered":"Lackawanna County communities told to address data centers on their own"},"content":{"rendered":"

Officials in the Abingtons, Dunmore and Scranton are acting now to address future data center development.<\/p>\n

Data center proposals in Lackawanna County have so far followed high-tension power lines \u2014 which also stretch across Newton, Ransom and South Abington townships and Scranton. Data centers would look to tap those lines to fuel computer hardware needed to power artificial intelligence and cloud computing.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Scranton Materials sought zoning relief for a data center campus on its Newton Road property in Ransom Twp., data centers\u2019 first foray into the Abingtons. And while high-tension power lines don\u2019t go through Scott Twp., data centers have been proposed near the township\u2019s borders.\n<\/p>\n

Abingtons municipalities, along with Scranton and Dunmore, are part of the Scranton-Abingtons Planning Association, a zoning collaborative that allows municipalities to share land uses. SAPA\u2019s current comprehensive plan does not include language that outlines data centers.<\/p>\n

With an update to the comprehensive plan a few years away, Lackawanna County planning officials advised municipalities to address data centers on their own.<\/p>\n

Updating zoning<\/p>\n

Officials in Dunmore and Scranton and Newton, Scott and South Abington townships said while they have not received applications for data centers, they are\u00a0reviewing zoning laws or enacting ordinances to regulate their development.<\/p>\n

South Abington Twp. Supervisor Chairman Mark Dougherty said the township\u2019s ordinance will put data center regulations in place before a developer proposes one in the township. He anticipates supervisors will vote on the ordinance at their March meeting.<\/p>\n

Dougherty isn\u2019t surprised a data center was proposed in the Abingtons because it is a largely rural area.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted an ordinance in place in case they did knock on our door, we could say, \u2018Well, here\u2019s our ordinance,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re getting ahead of the ball, figuring out where it could go and what restrictions we could put on it via ordinance prior to them coming to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott Twp.\u2019s ordinance would allow data centers and solar farms to be built only in an industrial zone in the northwest corner of the township.<\/p>\n

Supervisor Chairman Mike Giannetta said the township\u2019s planning commission will discuss the ordinance at an upcoming meeting. Once the commission votes, the ordinance will go before the supervisors board, he said.<\/p>\n

Giannetta said having solar farms and data centers in the same zoning district keeps them away from residential areas, while also complying with the law. He pointed out that several proposed data centers in Dickson City and Archbald are near the township.<\/p>\n

Newton Twp. Supervisor Chairman Doug Pallman said the supervisors have discussed data centers and agree that they wouldn\u2019t fall into the township\u2019s current zoning, which only allows for rural resource, rural residential and village mixed use development.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our opinion, data centers would not fit into any of those three categories,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pallman said while the township\u2019s rural resources zone allows for energy uses, such as solar farms, he doesn\u2019t consider data centers an energy use. He said they fall into industrial zoning, which the township doesn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything, it puts pressure on energy, whether it\u2019s water, electrical or what have you,\u201d he said. \u201cIn our opinion, we don\u2019t have the infrastructure in Newton Twp. to support it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pallman said the township\u2019s planning commission is going to discuss data centers at its next meeting.<\/p>\n

Dunmore Borough Council President Thomas Hallinan said their ordinance, which the zoning hearing board solicitor is working on with the borough solicitor, will protect residents from data centers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d rather protect everybody and err on the side of caution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hallinan said the borough is mostly residential, with few commercial spaces, as well as the Keystone Sanitary Landfill.\n<\/p>\n

Solicitor Jessica Eskra said Scranton\u2019s administration is exploring and evaluating its options to address data center development within the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to closely monitor developments occurring in our neighboring municipalities, as well as state legislation that is currently pending that could impact data center regulation,\u201d she said in an email last week.<\/p>\n

Officials said their biggest concerns with data centers in their communities are water and electricity use and noise levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t see any benefit for Scott Twp. for it to have a data center,\u201d Giannetta said. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to really provide that many jobs, they\u2019re going to take up a lot of land and I don\u2019t see where we\u2019re going to get any real benefit from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pallman said while he is still researching data centers, he is concerned about the potential pressure data centers would put on the township\u2019s current infrastructure, as well as its character.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest concern would be the essential character of the neighborhood and what type of effect that would have on possibly the values of the homes that would be located near a data center,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pallman said he will continue to research and educate himself on data centers, how they operate and what infrastructure and service demands they may place on a community like Newton Twp.<\/p>\n

\"Newton<\/p>\n

Newton Twp. Supervisor Chairman Doug Pallman in a plot of land on Winola Road in Newton Twp. on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Newton<\/p>\n

Newton Twp. Supervisor Chairman Doug Pallman in a plot of land on Winola Road in Newton Twp. on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Newton<\/p>\n

Newton Twp. Supervisor Chairman Doug Pallman in a plot of land on Winola Road in Newton Twp. on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A set of power lines runs southwest over the Pennsylvania Turnpike\u2019s Northeast Extension in Scranton Thursday, February 19, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Community<\/p>\n

Community members gather in the Ransom Twp. Municipal\u2019s garage for the hearing regarding Scranton Materials LLC\u2019s request for a zoning overlay to allow for a data center on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Community<\/p>\n

Community members fill out objector forms during the Ransom Twp. Board of Supervisors hearing regarding Scranton Materials LLC\u2019s request for a zoning overlay to allow for a data center at Ransom Twp. Municipal Building on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ransom<\/p>\n

Ransom Twp. resident Nikki Bencho sits in the crowd during the Ransom Twp. Board of Supervisors hearing regarding Scranton Materials LLC\u2019s request for a zoning overlay to allow for a data center at Ransom Twp. Municipal Building on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. A yellow \u201cNo Data Centers\u201d pin is on her hat. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Attorneys<\/p>\n

Attorneys Todd Johns and Justin Sulla represented Scranton Materials LLC during the Ransom Twp. Board of Supervisors hearing regarding the organization\u2019s request for a zoning overlay to allow for a data center at Ransom Twp. Municipal Building on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Keyser<\/p>\n

Keyser Valley resident Hayley Schaffer hands out \u201cNo Data Centers\u201d pins during the Ransom Twp. Board of Supervisors hearing regarding Scranton Materials LLC\u2019s request for a zoning overlay to allow for a data center at Ransom Twp. Municipal Building on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People fill the garage at the Ransom Twp. Municipal Building Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 for a hearing on a request by Scranton Materials LLC for a zoning overlay to allow for a data center on their property at 819 Newton Road. (Christine Lee\/Staff Photo)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ransom Twp. supervisors during the hearing Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Christine Lee\/Staff Photo)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 11<\/p>\n

Newton Twp. Supervisor Chairman Doug Pallman in a plot of land on Winola Road in Newton Twp. on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cData centers are an important part of our nation\u2019s technological future. They support communications, healthcare systems, financial networks, businesses, and the digital infrastructure that Americans rely on every day,\u201d he wrote in an email. \u201cAs our country continues to advance through this technological era, data centers will play an increasingly important role. When located in appropriate areas and approved under proper zoning and conditions, they can also provide meaningful tax revenue to municipalities, counties, and school districts. At the same time, municipalities have a responsibility to ensure that any proposed land use aligns with their adopted zoning ordinance and the long-term vision for their community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pallman said Scranton Materials\u2019 proposed data center prompted officials to better understand how data centers work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say it\u2019s the first one \u2026 that really opens our eyes to need to understand more what data centers are and understand the makeup of them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Process will take years<\/p>\n

Municipalities have to allow every lawful land use somewhere within their borders, including data centers. 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.\n<\/p>\n

SAPA allows member municipalities to share land uses. For instance, because Dunmore has the Keystone Sanitary Landfill, none of the other SAPA communities have to allow landfills. The association is composed of Clarks Green, Clarks Summit, Dalton, Dunmore, Newton Twp., Scranton, South Abington Twp. and West Abington Twp.\n<\/p>\n

No municipality in SAPA has data centers outlined in their zoning. There is also no language outlining data centers in the current SAPA comprehensive plan.\n<\/p>\n

County Planning Director Mary Liz Donato said the county will apply for a grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to update the association\u2019s comprehensive plan.<\/p>\n

They will also revisit each member municipality\u2019s zoning ordinance and address any issues as a result of the updated plan. The review will include figuring out where data centers could go, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tend to go in the areas where the high-voltage power lines are, so we would have to look at all of that to decide at that time where in the region would be best for them,\u201d Donato said.<\/p>\n

She anticipates the review will take a few years and has advised municipalities to enact their own data center ordinances in the meantime.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s going to be too late for the data centers at that point,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we advise them, if they felt they needed to act, they needed to do it now on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donato said she has discussed with officials from Dunmore, Newton Twp., South Abington Twp. and Waverly Twp. how they want to address data centers. Her office has provided them with model data center ordinances to use as a reference and adapt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout anybody having any regulations right now, they\u2019re all kind of vulnerable because there\u2019s got to be a spot for them somewhere and right now there isn\u2019t,\u201d Donato said.<\/p>\n

The member municipalities all passed resolutions to extend the intergovernmental agreement that comprises SAPA through June 2027.\n<\/p>\n

Data center hotbed<\/p>\n

Lackawanna County and the broader Northeast Pennsylvania region has emerged as a hotbed for data center development. Locally, most of the proposed data centers are in the Midvalley and North Pocono.\n<\/p>\n

Scranton Materials requested a zoning overlay to allow for a data center on its 251-acre property. Ransom Twp. supervisors rejected<\/a> an amendment to the township\u2019s zoning ordinance last month that would have defined and regulated data centers and allowed the data center to proceed.\n<\/p>\n

The amendment would have created a data center district that would have covered the property of Scranton Materials and established standards and conditions for data center development. It is unclear how the developer will proceed.<\/p>\n

Residents have opposed data center proposals, including the one in Ransom Twp., packing meetings and hearings to voice their misgivings about the developments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Officials in the Abingtons, Dunmore and Scranton are acting now to address future data center development. Data center…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2116,201,182,139,15728,28,4373,3103,178,180,179,6799],"class_list":{"0":"post-120329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-data-centers","9":"tag-lackawanna-county","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-newton-township","13":"tag-pennsylvania","14":"tag-ransom-township","15":"tag-scott-township","16":"tag-scranton","17":"tag-scranton-headlines","18":"tag-scranton-news","19":"tag-south-abington-township"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}