South Strabane planners recommend supervisors approve data center ordinance

The South Strabane Township Planning Commission has recommended that the Board of Supervisors adopt a new ordinance regulating data center development. This recommendation follows months of revisions and addresses residents' concerns regarding the potential impact of data centers on the community. The proposed ordinance is now advanced for a public hearing before the Board of Supervisors. A key provision of the ordinance, a "community benefit agreement" requiring developers to make payments to the township for public services, has met with strong opposition from CNX Resources. Attorney Blaine Lucas of Babst Calland, representing CNX Resources, argued that this requirement violates Pennsylvania's municipal code, asserting that taxes must be uniform and separate payments for public safety are illegal. Another Babst Calland attorney, Robert Max Junker, further argued that the ordinance is "exclusionary" and contains numerous stringent requirements, including significant setbacks, that would effectively prevent data center development. The effort to create this ordinance began last fall when real estate firm JLL marketed a 1,400-acre property owned by CNX Resources as suitable for an AI data center, though no specific plans for development currently exist. If adopted, the ordinance would significantly influence future development on properties like CNX's Zediker Station land. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the data center ordinance at 6:30 p.m. on March 31 at the South Strabane Township Fire Department.