Data center developer files new appeals against Dickson City
Dickson City Development LLC, linked to Kriger Construction Inc., has filed new land-use appeals against Dickson City, Pennsylvania. The developer seeks to invalidate the borough's zoning regulations for data centers after previously denied zoning permit applications for four data centers on Bell Mountain. These legal challenges are ongoing in the Lackawanna County court system.
Dickson City Development LLC, a firm associated with Kriger Construction Inc., has escalated its legal challenge against Dickson City, Pennsylvania, regarding the borough's data center zoning regulations. The developer filed a new land-use appeal on August 7 and an amended, consolidated appeal on August 4 in Lackawanna County court, aiming to declare the borough's February 12 zoning ordinance for data centers void.
The appeals follow the Dickson City Zoning Hearing Board's unanimous decision on May 20 to deny the developer's challenge to the validity of the ordinance, and subsequent denials on May 27 for four individual zoning permits for data centers. The initial permit applications were filed on January 13 and denied by Borough Zoning Officer James Damski on February 17. The proposed project includes four data centers planned for Bell Mountain, ranging in size from 107,820 to 147,000 square feet, across properties owned by Mountainview DC Realty LLC, Fore Up Realty, Scranton Circle Drive In Company Inc., and HFS Realty.
Dickson City Development's latest filings reiterate arguments from earlier appeals, citing procedural defects, vagueness, unlawful delegation of authority, and the ordinance's alleged de facto exclusionary nature. The August 7 appeal also integrates the denied zoning permit applications, arguing they were rejected based on a pending ordinance doctrine. The firm is simultaneously involved in proposals for three natural gas power plants on Bell Mountain, coinciding with the data center locations, and the 'Project Boson' data center in Archbald.