Olyphant data center developer claims public hearings an unnecessary delay
ERCOR Triboro has sued Olyphant Borough to bypass public hearings and conditional use requirements for its proposed seven data centers, arguing the process causes unnecessary delays. Residents and the newly involved Mid Valley School District are actively opposing the project, raising environmental and health concerns regarding noise and emissions. Olyphant's zoning officer initially invalidated and then reinstated conditional use requirements, prompting the developer's legal action.
A developer proposing a seven-building data center campus in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, has filed a lawsuit against the borough to circumvent public hearings and conditional use requirements. ERCOR Triboro, operating under the St. Louis-based Sansone Group, is asking a Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas judge to compel Olyphant to issue a zoning permit for its Project Triboro, claiming the public hearing process mandated by the borough's data center zoning ordinance would cause unnecessary construction delays.\n\nThe lawsuit has been met with strong criticism from Olyphant residents, particularly the "Stop Olyphant Data Centers" movement, which views the legal action as an attempt by the developer to avoid public accountability and take advantage of the town. Eva Rappenglueck, a prominent member of the group, expressed disgust at the company's "cowardice" and "entitlement." Residents have already raised over $5,400 for legal defense, drawing inspiration from a similar opposition group in nearby Archbald.\n\nAdding to the opposition, the Mid Valley School District unanimously voted to join the fight in Olyphant and Throop, citing concerns about the proximity of industrial-scale data centers to its elementary and secondary schools, which house approximately 2,200 students and faculty. The district's resolution highlights potential health impacts from "unrelenting, low-frequency acoustic noise" and emissions from backup diesel generators. It demands strict municipal performance standards, including mandatory setbacks, stringent noise limits, and zero-emission battery storage, and authorizes the district to legally intervene in hearings.\n\nThe legal dispute centers on Olyphant's efforts to regulate data centers. The borough initially gave final land development approval for a warehousing/distribution park in 2022. ERCOR argues its original plans predate and are protected against Olyphant's subsequent data center zoning ordinance, which designates data centers as conditional uses requiring public hearings. After a series of complex votes and legal challenges regarding its zoning amendments, Olyphant settled a separate lawsuit with Triboro Commerce Park by confirming data centers as conditional uses. ERCOR, however, seeks to avoid these new standards for its Project Triboro.