Valley View School District joins legal battle over proposed "Project Scott" data center project

The Valley View School District in Pennsylvania has formally intervened in a legal dispute, urging a Lackawanna County judge to uphold Archbald council's decision to deny a large data center complex. The proposed "Project Scott," an 18-building campus by Texas developer Provident Realty (operating as Archbald I LLC) on 400 acres, was initially denied by the council after a conditional use hearing. The district argues the project would be "substantially detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare," especially for its 2,345 students.

The developer, Archbald I LLC, claims the project received "deemed approval" on procedural grounds. This assertion stems from the borough's failure to publish a legal notice for a second conditional use hearing, which prevented the hearing from proceeding within the state Municipalities Planning Code's timeframe. The developer refused to waive its statutory rights, leading to the council's subsequent denial.

Archbald I LLC quickly appealed the council's denial, accusing the borough of abusing its discretion and acting in bad faith. Borough officials, however, attribute the notice failure to the newspaper and argue that the developer created the predicament by not agreeing to a hearing extension. The Valley View School District has sided with the borough, contending that granting approval due to a procedural error would violate the due process rights of Archbald citizens and lead to an unreviewed heavy industrial use.