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Planning commission flags data centers, food trucks and catering‑hall parking as zoning issues to address
Summary
Commissioners previewed several upcoming or pending land‑use items — Gateway Kia’s land development review, Valley Square parking, enforcement of a catering hall’s occupancy and draft ordinance work on food trucks and data centers — and asked staff to bring ordinance changes and clarifications to address impacts.
The Warrington Township Planning Commission used its June meeting to preview several items that may require zoning or ordinance changes, including the Gateway Kia land‑development review, outstanding parking issues at Valley Square and enforcement and permitting questions connected with a catering hall operating in a former firehouse.
Planning staff said Gateway Kia’s developer is close to resolving comments in a second review and that the Valley Square parking matter remains pending with the Board of Supervisors. The zoning officer reported the catering operation now has a limited occupancy order and that parking and some elements of the use remain unresolved.
Commissioners also signaled a broader review of zoning rules for transient retail, including food trucks. ‘‘Food trucks is one of them for the short term transient retail,’’ a staff member said, and the commission asked staff to prepare potential ordinance amendments. The commission discussed data centers as a separate, emerging land‑use concern: members cited the high energy and water demand, visual and noise impacts from backup generators, and the difficulty of prohibiting a legitimate use outright under Pennsylvania law.
Chair commentary summarized the concern: data centers can "usually come with tremendous fields of diesel generators to make backup power," creating noise and air quality impacts for nearby residents. Staff noted the township’s most recent zoning amendments restrict warehouses in the large industrial area south of the quarry, reducing obvious locations for data centers, and said any further rules would be considered by the commission as ordinance drafts.
The commission directed staff to research ordinance language (data centers, food trucks and other transient retail) and return with proposed amendments or guidance for the commission to review at a future meeting. No immediate regulatory changes were adopted at the session.
