Property owners sue Pennsylvania over proposed Muncy Township data center project
Property owners near a proposed three-building data center campus in Muncy Township are suing Pennsylvania, arguing that state planning provisions violate constitutional environmental, property and due-process rights. The township also enacted a nine-month moratorium on data center applications while it develops zoning rules, while the developer claims the project may have received automatic approval after officials failed to hold a required hearing.
Property owners near a proposed three-data-center campus in Muncy Township, Lycoming County, have sued the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over provisions of the Municipal Planning Code. The plaintiffs argue the code’s deemed-approval rules conflict with the Pennsylvania Constitution’s Environmental Rights Amendment and violate free-expression, property and due-process protections. The suit was filed by Green Amendments for the Generations, its members and Muncy Township supervisors in Commonwealth Court.
Developer Daniel Klingerman’s company submitted plans for the 100-acre project on April 28, the same day Muncy Township supervisors approved a nine-month moratorium on processing data center and similar high-intensity development applications. Township officials said the pause would allow them to create regulations for the facilities, while the developer’s holding company contends the proposal was automatically approved because no hearing occurred within the required 60-day period. Maya K. van Rossum, founder of Green Amendments for the Generations, said the case could strengthen enforcement of Pennsylvania’s environmental rights protections.