Hazle Twp. planners recommend data center rules
Hazle Township planners unanimously recommended revised data center zoning rules to the township supervisors after residents raised concerns about setbacks, noise, fire safety, water use and impacts on homes. The rules could facilitate NorthPoint’s proposed 15-building Project Hazelnut, whose development approval was denied and is now under appeal.
Hazle Township planners recommended that supervisors approve a revised zoning amendment governing data centers after a special meeting drew about 150 minutes of overwhelmingly negative public comment. The recommendations include limits on diesel generator operation, additional review for modular nuclear reactors, lithium-ion battery fire safeguards, outside expert review of technical studies and a higher decommissioning bond. The amendment would allow data centers by right in a designated area near high-voltage transmission lines and reduce residential setbacks based on projected noise levels.
Residents and nearby Sugarloaf Township property owners argued that the proposal could expose homes to noise, fire, environmental and property-value risks, while raising concerns about water use and the ability of volunteer fire departments to respond. The designated area appears to accommodate NorthPoint’s planned Project Hazelnut, a 15-building data center campus on 1,345 acres; Amazon has been unofficially identified as the prospective end user. Hazle Township supervisors denied development approval for the project in November 2025, and NorthPoint has appealed the decision to Luzerne County Court and Commonwealth Court.