Valley View School District fights 18-data-center campus in Archbald

The Valley View School District is actively opposing the development of an 18-data-center campus, known as Project Scott, in Archbald, Pennsylvania, near its schools. The district recently filed a land-use appeal in Lackawanna County Court, challenging developer Archbald I LLC's contention that its conditional use application should be 'deemed approved' due to a procedural issue. This appeal marks the fourth action taken by the district in less than a week, aligning with a prior decision by school directors to pursue legal challenges against data centers and Archbald's zoning.

Lackawanna County Judge Terrence R. Nealon has scheduled September 3 hearings to determine if the Valley View School District has legal standing to intervene in two existing legal battles: one involving Archbald residents seeking to invalidate the borough's data center zoning, and another where Archbald defends the 'deemed approval' claim. The district also sent a letter to Archbald Council President Louis Rapoch, arguing that another project, the seven-data-center Project Gravity, is not permitted by right and should require a public hearing. These projects are part of a larger trend, with nearly 100 data centers proposed across the county, many concentrated along Archbald's Eynon Jermyn Road corridor.

The school district's attorneys, Brendan N. Fitzgerald, Larry Moran Jr., and Kyle Callejas, argue that allowing the data centers would negatively impact student safety, transportation, emergency preparedness, utility infrastructure, traffic, noise, water usage, electric demand, lighting, and air quality. They assert that the district has non-delegable statutory duties to protect its 2,345 students and school facilities, duties that the borough does not share. Archbald I LLC, operating under Provident Realty Advisors of Dallas, Texas (Provident Data Centers), originally sought approval for Project Scott, comprising 18 data centers up to 90 feet tall on 400 acres.

The 'deemed approval' dispute stems from a clerical error by The Times-Tribune, which failed to publish public notices for a rescheduled hearing, preventing the borough from holding it. Despite efforts to accommodate the developer's request for a new date, the borough ultimately denied the application to avoid a 'deemed approval' after the developer declined an extension. The developer then filed a land-use appeal, claiming Archbald abused its discretion. Archbald resident Tamara Misewicz-Healey, co-founder of the 'Stop Archbald Data Centers' movement, welcomed the school district's involvement, emphasizing the potential impacts on students and staff from air pollution, noise, and traffic, as well as the proximity to homes, parks, and sports fields.