Data center proposed in Muncy Township
A data center complex has been proposed in Muncy Township, appearing on a zoning permit application despite a supervisor's earlier denial of any submitted plans. The township later enacted a nine-month moratorium on data centers to establish appropriate zoning regulations. Township officials communicated that informally submitted plans are not official.
A new data center complex has been proposed in Muncy Township, Pennsylvania, with a zoning permit application dated April 15. This development comes despite Muncy Township Supervisor Terri Lauchle's public assurances later in April that no data center plans had been submitted to the township.
The proposed site plan for what would be known as Muncy Data Center includes three buildings with 14-pod and eight-pod facilities, along with water storage tanks and a water treatment facility. DANKO Holdings II/Fishlips LLC is listed as the applicant, with The Liberty Group being the parent company of DANKO Holdings II. The site is located near the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.
During a special board of supervisors meeting on April 28, Supervisors Lauchle and Denise Artley voted to enact a nine-month moratorium on data center development. Former solicitor Joseph F. Orso III explained that the moratorium was necessary because existing zoning regulations offered no specific guidance for data centers, and the township needed time to establish appropriate rules.
Kathryn Harper, Muncy Township's secretary and acting open records officer, confirmed that an official search for zoning applications between January 1 and April 26 found no responsive records. She also sent correspondence to DANKO Holdings II/Fishlips LLC, stating that informal submissions to individual officials would not be accepted, emphasizing that all future applications must go through the township secretary's office for official processing.