Upper Mount Bethel Township faces zoning challenge from data center developers
Data center developers in Upper Mount Bethel Township are challenging the municipality's zoning ordinance, arguing it unlawfully excludes data centers. They seek approval for a proposed 24-building data center campus on 754 acres of industrial land. Residents and an environmental group are raising concerns about environmental impacts and transparency.
Developers for a proposed data center campus in Upper Mount Bethel Township, Pennsylvania, are formally challenging the municipality's zoning ordinance. Slate Belt Holdings, a partnership between Talen Energy and River Point Logistics Center LLC, submitted the challenge, arguing that the current zoning unlawfully excludes data centers or, alternatively, that their proposed development should be permitted by right as a "high technology industry" or "general industrial" use.
The proposed project, located west of River Road on 754 acres, includes 23 data center buildings, an administrative building, and two 480-megawatt substations. The developers highlight the site's proximity to existing electrical facilities and efforts to preserve environmentally sensitive areas, including wetlands and floodplains. However, residents and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network have expressed significant concerns about potential impacts on groundwater, wildlife, and the Delaware River ecosystem, which supplies drinking water to Philadelphia and New York City. Opposition is also fueled by questions of transparency after officials discussed a potential community benefits agreement before a formal proposal.
The challenge from Slate Belt Holdings references an April 2024 zoning officer's determination that the project would be permitted by right in industrial zones. The developers contend that if data centers are not categorized as either "high technology industry" or "general industrial" use, the township has no suitable zoning category, thereby unlawfully excluding such development. The township has since begun drafting a new data center zoning ordinance, which is currently in development.