The proposal, set to face Lower Merion\u2019s planning commission and building and planning committee next month, would amend Lower Merion\u2019s zoning code to put guardrails on the construction and operation of data centers, which are being built across Pennsylvania<\/a>. <\/p>\n Lower Merion\u2019s zoning code doesn\u2019t currently define or regulate data centers as a land use, according to a briefing prepared by the township\u2019s building and planning department. Historically, data processing facilities in Lower Merion were zoned under broader office, institutional, utility, and industrial uses. <\/p>\n The proliferation of artificial intelligence, however, has created demand for data centers that far eclipse their predecessors in electrical demand, size, and local impacts, the briefing states, requiring municipalities to put clearer standards on the books. <\/p>\n While local governments in Pennsylvania can\u2019t legally ban data centers<\/a>, many are moving to write ordinances that limit where and how they can operate. West Conshohocken<\/a>, Whitemarsh<\/a>, and Upper Merion<\/a> passed data center ordinances earlier this year, and Radnor is considering one that would strictly regulate<\/a> the facilities. <\/p>\n Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> this summer signed an executive order<\/a> significantly restricting data center development in the commonwealth.<\/p>\n As plans for data centers have proliferated, resident groups have organized against the developments,<\/a> pushing elected officials to reign in the facilities, sometimes cropping up in their backyards<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are currently no data center proposals in Lower Merion, said Chris Leswing, the township\u2019s director of building and planning.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Human reporters explain why AI data centers are so controversial in the Philly suburbs and beyond<\/a><\/p>\n Under Lower Merion\u2019s proposed ordinance, data centers could be approved by special exception in the township\u2019s light industrial zoning district, a small collection of parcels along the Schuylkill<\/a> River in Bala Cynwyd currently home to Ironworks at Pencoyd Landing and AFC Fitness gym. The zone also includes a handful of buildings off Righters Ferry Road next to the Pencoyd Landing developments.<\/p>\n The facilities would be capped at 60 feet in height and would need to be 1,000 feet away from any residential zoning district. The facilities would be required to use a closed-loop cooling system. <\/p>\n The proposed ordinance also sets requirements for thermal impact mitigation, noise studies, water and wastewater capacity studies, drought response plans, and public engagement, and mandates developers provide a decommissioning plan for safely shutting down and removing all equipment should a data center cease operations.<\/p>\n Lower Merion\u2019s draft ordinance was prepared with the guidance of a data center ordinance guide<\/a> published jointly by the Montgomery County<\/a> Planning Commission and Chester County<\/a> Planning Commission earlier this year. <\/p>\n The ordinance is in early stages and will be reviewed by Lower Merion\u2019s planning commission on Nov. 2 and building and planning committee on Nov. 11, the first steps in a legislative process that will involve committee feedback, public comment, and an eventual vote from the board of commissioners.<\/p>\n Inquirer Lower Merion<\/p>\n A weekly newsletter<\/p>\n Want to get Inquirer Lower Merion straight to your inbox every week? Sign up here for our guide to the news, stories, and events shaping life in your community.<\/p>\n This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer\u2019s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com\/donate<\/a>. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org\/supporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min Officials in Lower Merion will consider an ordinance that would restrict the development…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[183,185,184,186,129391],"class_list":["post-317617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion-headlines","tag-lower-merion-news","tag-lower-merion-township","tag-lower-merion-data-center-regulations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317617","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=317617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Inquirer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793366299_775_I_circle_black.png\")
<\/p>\n