Data center developer offers 4,500 Pennsylvania households $10,000 if project gets all approvals
NorthPoint Development is proposing a campus of up to 15 data centers in Hazel Township, Pennsylvania, offering $10,000 to 4,500 local households as part of a $60 million community benefit package. The project faces significant hurdles, including a denial of land-development plans by township supervisors and an enacted 180-day moratorium on new data center applications. NorthPoint is challenging the rejection in court, while residents express concerns over noise, property values, and resource demands.
NorthPoint Development has put forward a proposal for a data center campus featuring up to 15 buildings in Hazel Township, Pennsylvania. As part of a larger $60 million community benefit package, the developer is offering $10,000 checks to 4,500 households located near the proposed site. This package also includes $105 million in annual payments to the township over 15 years, as reported by Gadget Review.
The project faces considerable opposition and regulatory challenges. Hazel Township supervisors denied NorthPoint's land-development plans, prompting a Luzerne County judge to direct the company to seek approval through the zoning hearing board or obtain a special exception. Additionally, the supervisors enacted a 180-day moratorium on new data center applications in June, intending to draft new zoning regulations.
NorthPoint Development is currently challenging the township's rejection in court. Local residents have criticized the $10,000 offers as potentially being a "bribe" and have raised objections concerning noise pollution, visual impact on the viewshed, potential declines in property values, and the significant demands the data center would place on local water and energy resources.