Upper Moreland committee seeks draft zoning ordinance to address data center concerns

At the June 15 Community Development Committee meeting, residents pressed township officials for clarity about how Upper Moreland would respond if a data center proposal surfaced in the township.

"The more I read about data centers ... the more questions I have because I don't know what the zoning is," Joan Pritchard, a resident of Willow Grove, told the committee, asking whether zoning decisions would be handled at a different meeting and how the public would be notified.

Township consultants and staff said they are preparing a draft zoning ordinance for the committee’s review. Sean, the consultant working on the model ordinance, said his firm represents about 40 municipalities and is compiling elements from surrounding counties and townships that have already dealt with data center proposals. "My firm is fortunate to represent 40 municipalities," Sean said, and he said he expected to forward a draft ordinance to planning staff within weeks so the committee can discuss it and send it through the statutory steps required for a zoning change.

The committee emphasized process protections already in place: officials said a 180-day bar (the period during which the township is preparing its zoning response) is active and that zoning ordinance changes will require formal advertisement and public hearings. An announcement at the meeting said the committee anticipates at least three public opportunities for comment before any zoning amendment is enacted and that the Montgomery County Planning Commission and the township’s advisory planning agency will have the chance to review the draft.

Residents also raised concerns about deal-making and secrecy. Joan Pritchard and others said they had seen examples in other places where nondisclosure agreements and incentive discussions occurred without broad public awareness; the committee stated on the record that it had not signed NDAs related to data center proposals and would not do so. "It's possible to require public hearings, environmental reviews, and discretionary approval processes," Phoebe Park, a resident, told the committee, urging the use of zoning tools that limit by-right approvals.

Sean said the township will adapt model language already published by neighboring jurisdictions and county planning commissions and will coordinate review with the township’s zoning officer and advisory planning agency before advertisement. He described a stepwise progression: draft ordinance → committee discussion → revisions → advertisement and advertised public hearings, with county review opportunities.

What happens next: the consultant expects to deliver a draft ordinance in the coming weeks for review by planning staff and the Community Development Committee; public hearings and additional committee meetings will follow. The committee emphasized it is acting proactively and will provide multiple public forums before any zoning amendment is adopted.