York County Council Passes Second Reading of $1.5 Billion Biopharma Deal, Data Center Moratorium
The York County Council unanimously passed the second reading of an ordinance establishing a nine-month moratorium on new data center development in unincorporated parts of the county. This pause will halt all land use and development approvals for data centers while the county studies their impact on critical resources and infrastructure. A public hearing on the moratorium is scheduled for July 13.
The York County Council held a special meeting on Monday evening, where it unanimously approved a landmark incentive agreement for a global biopharmaceutical company, identified as Project Palmetto Rock, and passed a nine-month moratorium on new data center approvals.
The incentive agreement, passed on its second reading by a 7-0 vote, authorizes York County to provide fee-in-lieu of ad valorem taxes and special source revenue credits for Project Palmetto Rock. This project involves an estimated $1.5 billion investment by the biopharmaceutical company to establish a corporate headquarters and a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, expected to create over 1,200 new high-wage jobs.
Also passed unanimously on its second reading was an ordinance establishing a temporary nine-month moratorium on data center development in unincorporated York County. This moratorium will halt the consideration or issuance of special exceptions, conditional use approvals, site plan acceptances, and other land use or development approvals for data centers. The county intends to use this period to study the impact of such facilities on critical resources, neighboring properties, and infrastructure. The ordinance allows for a possible extension of this moratorium if further time is needed.
A public hearing regarding the data center moratorium is scheduled for the next York County Council meeting on July 13.