A Chester County township is getting ‘ahead of the game’ with a new ordinance that would limit data centers
The decision comes as two data center projects in the county are seeing significant public pushback.
In an effort to get ahead of any possible data center proposals — as several work through the municipal process in Chester County — Tredyffrin Township staff will begin drafting an ordinance that could give municipal leaders more control before developers come knocking.
There are no data center applications submitted to the township, and officials say there’s little room for something so large to call Tredyffrin home. But as the projects are increasingly becoming more popular in Pennsylvania, an ordinance on the books would get them out ahead of any proposals.
“I think a lot of the issues that we’re seeing in our neighboring municipalities right now is because they are being forced to play catch up because they did not plan in advance,” board supervisor Hans van Mol said. “Us being proactive while there are not any projects happening in Tredyffrin, or being planned to happen in Tredyffrin, allows us to be ahead of the game should anything come up, so that we can be prepared for whatever may be to come.”
The seven-person board voted unanimously at their Monday meeting to authorize township staff to work with the solicitor to draft zoning amendments regarding data centers.
It comes as Chester and Montgomery Counties have jointly published guidance on data center ordinances this month, giving municipal leaders a framework to navigate the proposals.
The guidance suggests ordinance language, addressing zoning districts, scale and aesthetics, impervious and building coverage, energy sources, back up power, water usage, noise, and more.
The document was released as Chester County grapples with two sizable projects — plans are just shy of 2 million square feet a piece — that have been drawing pushback from across the county, given the center’s regional impact. And other data center proposals are eyeing nearby collar counties.
At the state level, several bills are seeking to address the projects. One bill directing municipalities to adopt ordinances passed the state House of Representatives earlier this month and now goes to the state Senate. (All but two Chester County representatives voted in favor of the bill.)
Local government officials have been increasingly pressed to draft ordinances before they get an application. In East Vincent, supervisors raced to pen an ordinance to address a pending application for a data center at the historic Pennhurst site, but when it became too prohibitive, the applicant argued they didn’t have to follow it. Officials ultimately scrapped it, and the project is now being reviewed during conditional use hearings.
The proposed Chester County projects have been met with vehement opposition from residents in recent months. In North Coventry, staunch pushback prompted officials to vote against a project that hadn’t formally been submitted yet. East Whiteland residents packed into a planning commission meeting, leading to its shutdown when the room’s occupancy was exceeded. Dozens of residents applied for party status to oppose the East Vincent project.
Right now, the proposed data centers are quite large, supervisor KS Bhaskar said. But with time, they could be the size of office parks — something that would easily find a spot in the township.
“It’s good to have an ordinance on the books, just so we’re not caught flat footed,” he said.
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