EAST VINCENT — A lawyer representing the company that wants to build a data center on the former Pennhurst Asylum property made a pitch to the township supervisors Wednesday for making changes to its proposed data center ordinance.
As the draft stands now, attorney Matt McHugh told the board, it would essentially prevent the construction of a data center on the property. He said because an submission to the township has already been made under the current zoning ordinance, Pennhurst Properties, the company that wants to build the data center “is under no obligation” to proceed with the project under the ordinance now under consideration by the township.
However, should the township be willing to make some modifications to the current draft, McHugh’s clients would prefer to work collaboratively to end up with a project that benefits the town economically, he said.
“A data center is a sprawling collection of computer servers that perform essential functions of the online world, like processing and storing information. As tools like artificial intelligence, which require a lot of processing power, rapidly advance, these centers are being built frequently and quickly nationwide,” according to reporting by Spotlight PA. “These centers require a lot of electrical power and water to cool their servers.”
Common concerns around their construction revolve around power needs and the potential to raise electric rates, water usage and noise pollution.
In addition to the project at Pennhurst, a proposal for another data center along Route 724 in neighboring East Coventry Township was recently revealed.
Pennhurst Holdings’ goal is to create “a responsible development that provides significant economic and community benefits, but also mitigates potential impacts to the greatest extent possible,” McHugh said during his 12-minute presentation.
As currently designed, the project envisions a “closed loop” cooling system that makes use of treated sewage and captured rainwater, not groundwater that could affect nearby wells; “sound attenuation measures” and cooling equipment that is “quieter than older models;” as well as a “dedicated substation and on-site off-the-grid power generation that would allow the data center to run off the grid “during peak usage.”
McHugh said the project’s financial analysis shows $37 million in annual tax revenues for the Owen J. Roberts School District, as well as $2 million in annual tax revenues to the township; along with 1,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs once the center is built, all without the increased truck traffic a more conventional use would generate.
Although the data center draft has many regulations and conditions that “seem reasonable on their face, the struggle we have is when you put all of them together, they ultimately act as prohibitive to the development of the Pennhurst property,” McHugh said. If left unchanged, “we would have no choice but to continue under the conditional use provisions” in the current ordinance, an ordinance that does not include a negotiated “community benefits package” that can be found in the draft.
Examples of the draft ordinance’s limitations include a requirement for energy efficiency, but a prohibition on having on-site energy generation. Without achieving the highest energy efficiency rating, the building would be limited to 300,000 square feet, McHugh said. The requirement for an 800-foot buffer between the facility and “sensitive receptors” could not be met with the Southeast Veterans Center as near as 551 feet away. To meet the buffer requirement would push the center out of the prime building location, he said.
Further, the 50-foot height limit “is a one-story building,” said McHugh.
But many of those in the capacity crowd who spoke out during the hour-long period set aside for the first set of public comments seemed unsympathetic to the problems a new ordinance might create for the data center project.
“We don’t need it. We don’t want it,” said Donald Hyman, one of three veterans who live in the Southeast Veterans Center and were moved to the front of the speakers’ line in deference to their service and their proximity to the project.
“The more I hear about this data center, the more I’m not sure what’s going to be put in place,” said John Coyle, also a resident of the veterans center. “I’m a little upset we’re not getting the full picture.”
New Street resident John Binelli warned that the property “is already littered with heavy metals, asbestos, and radioactive coal ash. He added that “this (proposed) ordinance is being presented as a way to protect the residents, but in reality, there are no guarantees or protections that would make this an acceptable use of the Pennhurst property. We are in uncharted waters with hyper-scale data centers and many of the risks are unknown.”
Steve Hacker of Brown Drive said he worked at Pennhurst for a time and that there is a subway system under the buildings, riddled with pipes covered with asbestos. “Beneath Pennhurst right now, there is asbestos, there is lead, there is animal feces, and who knows what else. If these guys start digging, it’s going to send all that stuff into the air. These guys did not clean up what they were supposed to clean up. How can you trust them?”
Hacker’s wife, Pam, suggested that instead of a data center, a film center be built on the site, which would employ thousands of people. “There’s just so many obstacles to this. And the veterans, my heart goes out to them because they will be directly across from this whole thing.”
Meredith Drive resident Kelsey Adams said she is worried about the potential for air pollution, particularly if diesel generators are used for power at the site. “I vehemently oppose this for all the reasons stated.”
After more than three hours, Board Chairman Craig A. Damon adjourned the meeting. “We’re going to have another meeting on the 17th and no doubt into the new year on this topic. Keep coming, keep bringing your issues,” he said.
According to a legal notice published Friday in The Mercury, the supervisors “could vote to adopt an ordinance entitled “Data Center Campus Ordinance” at the Dec. 17 meeting. Among other things, that new ordinance would put the decision for approving the project — if that new ordinance is applied — into the “special exception” category, a category that would be decided by the un-elected Zoning Hearing Board instead of the “conditional use process” which is decided by the elected Board of Supervisors.
The meeting at the township building begins at 7 p.m.
