Allentown City Council set to vote on new data center regulations. But they won’t stop first ‘hyperscale’ proposal.
Allentown City Council is set to vote on new zoning regulations for data centers, which aim to restrict locations and require extensive studies on environmental impacts, water, and electricity usage. However, these new rules will not apply to a proposed hyperscale data center in South Allentown due to its application being submitted before the ordinance advertisements, allowing it to be reviewed under older, less stringent regulations.
Allentown City Council is poised to adopt new zoning regulations for data centers, including requirements for extensive studies on water and electricity usage, environmental impacts, noise, and vibrations, while restricting facilities to the city’s most intense industrial zones. The proposed ordinance, Bill 20, also mandates significant setbacks from public roads and other properties, a provision that would likely prevent the current "hyperscale" data center proposal at 2401 W. Emaus Ave. from proceeding under the new rules.
However, City Planning Director Jennifer Gomez confirmed that the application for the quarter-million-square-foot data center, submitted by Zach Jordan of Langan Engineering to convert an existing warehouse, is "grandfathered" under the prior zoning ordinance. This means the new regulations, even if passed by the City Council on Wednesday, June 3rd, will not apply to this specific project, which is scheduled for review by planning officials on June 9th. Officials express concern that without specific data center regulations, the city might have limited authority to reject proposals like the Emaus Avenue facility if it meets existing warehouse or industrial use requirements.
The article also notes other data center activities in the Lehigh Valley region. Prologis received approval for a warehouse-to-data center conversion in Allen Township, while CDE Acquisitions scaled back plans for a massive campus in South Whitehall Township. Air Products' proposal for a large data center complex in Upper Macungie Township was rejected last month by the Zoning Hearing Board. Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach has also expressed a desire to strengthen provisions on noise and water usage.