Slocum Twp. adopts zoning amendment to regulate future data centers
Slocum Township supervisors have adopted a curative amendment to their zoning ordinance and map, restricting future data centers to industrial zones as conditional uses. This action aims to regulate data center development, address existing zoning deficiencies, and maintain the township's rural character. Officials emphasized the need to enact the amendment promptly to avoid legal challenges.
Slocum Township supervisors in Pennsylvania have adopted a curative amendment to the township's zoning ordinance, specifically regulating the future development of data centers. The unanimous vote, taken Thursday night, allows data centers and related structures only in newly designated industrial zones and categorizes them as conditional uses, giving supervisors the ability to impose additional restrictions.
Township Planning Commission Solicitor Chris Opiel and Township Solicitor April Mae Zola, who attended via Zoom, explained that the amendment was crucial to rectify deficiencies in the existing zoning map, which lacked industrial zones, and to preemptively establish regulations for data centers. They emphasized the urgency, needing to act within a 180-day state-mandated window that expires August 3, following the supervisors' declaration of the current ordinance as "substantially invalid" on February 3.
While no formal objections were raised, resident Dawn Van Fossen suggested making the amendment stricter compared to surrounding municipalities, with Opiel acknowledging the recommendations for a forthcoming comprehensive zoning revision. Supervisors, including Norbert Dotzel and Peter Webby, whose families own land in the new industrial zones, invoked the "rule of necessity" to vote, declaring their interests. Supervisor Charles Herring underscored the township's commitment to preserving its rural character. The new ordinance addresses typical concerns such as setbacks, buffers, noise standards, and water and electricity requirements.