Rejection of deal with data center developers fails in chaotic end to Northampton County township meeting
Upper Mount Bethel residents urged supervisors to reject a data center agreement, but a motion to do so failed after a new, unreviewed deal was revealed. Developers had filed a lawsuit challenging the township's zoning ordinance, which supervisors decided to oppose. The township is also drafting a new data center ordinance.
Residents of Upper Mount Bethel Township, Pennsylvania, expressed strong opposition to a proposed agreement with data center developers Slate Belt Holdings LLC at a recent township meeting. They urged supervisors to reject the deal, but a motion by Supervisor David Friedman to do so, seconded by Chair John Bermingham, failed with Supervisors Jason Albert, Jon Erler, and Cori Eckman opposing. Further action on the deal was tabled.
The meeting became chaotic when it was revealed that a revised agreement had been presented to the township solicitor, Ron Karasek, only hours before the meeting, leaving the public and some supervisors unaware of the changes. The revised deal included language regulating water use, required a decommissioning plan, and removed a tax abatement extension, while tying community benefits to a 2-gigawatt computing capacity goal.
Developers Slate Belt Holdings LLC, a partnership between Talen Energy and River Pointe Logistics Center LLC, had filed a legal challenge in July, claiming the township's current zoning ordinance unlawfully excludes data centers. Supervisors unanimously endorsed a call to assign the township solicitor to oppose this legal challenge, despite some supervisors believing a negotiated agreement was the best way to introduce data center-specific regulations. The township is awaiting a mid-September ruling from its zoning hearing board on the developers' legal challenge and is also drafting its own data center ordinance.