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Residents press township for clarity on data-center zoning as Project Atlas review continues
Summary
Residents at the South Whitehall Township meeting pressed officials for clearer explanations of the ordinance that governs data centers and questioned how the township vets applicants; staff said the ordinance is an "opt-in" by-right overlay designed to preserve the board's ability to require setbacks, buffers and studies and described escrow and security rules for public improvements.
Ryan Ununice, a resident of 2927 Orfield Road, asked township officials at the July 1 meeting to explain what it means when a land use is “permitted by right” and urged clearer outreach about the ordinance underlying the Project Atlas proposal. "Could someone just please briefly explain what it means when a land use is permitted by rights under an ordinance?" he asked.
Township manager Tom Petruchi and Director of Community Development Kent Baird responded that the township structured its data-center rules as an opt-in overlay so Project Atlas would be subject not only to base industrial standards but also heightened requirements in the overlay: larger setbacks, expanded buffers, noise standards and community-impact requirements. Petruchi said the approach reflected the township’s effort to comply with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code while retaining stronger local controls than a special-exception process would allow.
Petruchi said the ordinance requires applicants to comply with all township ordinances and state permitting (for example, stormwater and PennDOT highway-occupancy permits) and pointed to specific overlay requirements discussed in review letters. Baird reiterated that the opt-in format functions ‘‘like a contract’’ between the applicant and township, which allows staff and the board to hold developers to standards that would not be available under a zoning hearing-board special-exception route.
Resident Doug Wald (3301 West Congress Street) raised questions about applicant transparency after seeing the applicant listed as "CDE Acquisitions LLC" with a project representative named Bill Greenwood. "I found absolutely nothing" online about that LLC, Wald said, and asked whether the township vets applicants’ finances. Petruchi replied that it's common for developers to form project-specific LLCs; the township requires proof the entity lawfully exists and an escrow or security agreement for public improvements but does not have authority under state law to demand full private financial disclosures unless an applicant voluntarily provides them.
Petruchi also described how the township handles security for public improvements: applicants post performance security (letter of credit, cash, or performance bond) before recording plans, and if a developer fails to complete public improvements the township may call the security to finish required infrastructure (water, sewer, detention) while the building itself is not guaranteed by that security.
Other residents said they remained concerned about noise and wildlife. Maryanne Bobin (2400 Mechanicsville Road) said nights in her area are ‘‘dead quiet’’ and worried that noise from a data center could be intrusive. Staff urged residents to document wildlife sightings — including a reported bald-eagle sighting — and to provide that information to the township so state or federal wildlife authorities can follow up.
Petruchi and Baird encouraged residents to attend the July 9 planning commission meeting and to use posted review materials on the township website, noting that a 160-page review letter and other packet materials detail outstanding items the applicant must address.
What happens next: the planning and land-development review process will continue; the planning commission is scheduled to meet July 9, and the township’s posted review letter lists outstanding engineering, stormwater, setback and buffering items that Project Atlas must resolve before approvals proceed.
