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Columbia council delays rebid of McInness property amid data‑center zoning fight
Summary
After lengthy public comment opposing a data‑center sale, Columbia Borough Council voted to table re‑advertising the McInness property so staff can send a zoning amendment draft to planning commissions and include clearer RFP language on bidder financial disclosures and potential ordinance changes.
Columbia Borough Council on June 9 paused plans to re‑advertise the McInness property after residents and councilors pressed for clearer rules and greater transparency around a possible sale that could permit a data center on the site.
Kathy Empleton, a Columbia resident, told the council she found two different versions of the property RFP on the borough website and urged stricter bidder screening. "If we are counting on $850,000 per year in tax revenue," she said, "shouldn't we be reasonably sure that the developer will pay the property taxes?" Empleton also said a petition opposing the sale had nearly 1,500 signatures and urged the council to amend the zoning ordinance so data centers would not be permitted in the light‑business district and would require conditional or special‑exception review elsewhere.
Council members and staff spent more than an hour debating options for local controls. Staff advised sending a draft ordinance amendment to the local and Lancaster County planning commissions before re‑advertising so potential bidders would see the direction of any rule changes. Council discussed alternatives including making data centers "not permitted" on the McInness parcel, treating them as conditional use in general industrial zones, or retaining the current approach but adding design and operational conditions.
The council also debated inserting RFP language that would notify bidders that the borough is considering zoning amendments and would release a post‑unsealing executive summary with limited bid details (name, price, proposed land use, floor area, job creation and estimated tax revenue). Supporters said the step would improve transparency and reduce confusion after a previous bid round; opponents warned about timing and legal exposure if advertisement language proved materially different from a final ordinance.
After public input that ranged from calls for more technical study to suggestions to redesign the light‑business zone for mixed uses, the council voted to table the motion to re‑advertise until the July 13 meeting to allow staff to forward a draft ordinance to planning review and to refine RFP language. Council members signaled they want more time to craft whether data centers should be disallowed on McInness, limited by conditional use processes, or subject to new operational standards.
What happens next: staff will prepare a draft ordinance and forward it to the local planning commission for its July review and then to the county planning commission; council set a July 13 target for further action. The council did not approve a sale or change zoning at the June 9 meeting.
Provenance: Topic introduced at the public comment and RFP discussion beginning with Kathy Empleton’s remarks (timeline SEG 232–SEG 471) and continuing through the council debate and tabled motion (timeline SEG 1648–SEG 2866).
