Olyphant settles DeNaples lawsuit and confirms data center regulations
Olyphant Borough Council voted to settle a lawsuit from Triboro Commerce Park LLC, which affirms a zoning amendment regulating data centers in the borough. The decision comes amidst strong resident opposition to data center development and concerns over environmental impacts and electricity use. The new amendment sets conditions for data center approval, including decibel limits, buffers, and requirements for water and electricity studies.
Olyphant Borough Council voted 6-0 to settle a lawsuit brought by Triboro Commerce Park LLC, a company managed by Charles DeNaples. The settlement recognizes a previously adopted zoning amendment that establishes conditional use requirements for data centers within approximately 1,000 acres of industrially zoned land in the borough. This decision was made following a contentious two-hour public meeting with an increased police presence due to prior online threats, where over 80 residents overwhelmingly voiced opposition to data center developments.
The zoning amendment, developed over eight months, restricts data centers to areas also allowing landfills and slaughterhouses. It mandates decibel level limits, buffer zones, prohibits on-site power generation (except for emergency backup), and requires developers to provide studies on water and electricity usage. Borough officials, including Solicitor John Brazil and Council President Jimmy Baldan, defended the regulations as crucial to prevent unrestricted data center development, despite initially adopting and then denying the amendment in a chaotic April meeting. Triboro Commerce Park, which owns over 400 acres of the zoned land, had withdrawn initial plans for seven data centers, but Sansone Group's ERCOR Triboro now proposes nine data centers on 100 acres.
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan reiterated calls for a countywide health impact study, criticizing the proliferation of data centers across the county. Residents expressed strong concerns about environmental degradation, water and air quality, property values, and the impact on local utilities. Eva Rappenglueck, a leader of the "Stop Olyphant Data Center" movement, questioned the 1,000-acre zoning district and the financial benefits to the borough, which operates its own electric company and requires data centers to source power from it. Council members individually stated they were against data centers, with President Baldan asserting, "The fight has just begun now."