Solicitor outlines Wrightstown revisions to joint zoning amendment for data centers

At the July 8 meeting of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors, Solicitor Lizette reviewed a set of revisions Wrightstown Township requested for the joint municipal zoning ordinance (JMZO) amendment governing data centers.

Lizette described several substantive revisions Wrightstown proposed: deleting a provision that encouraged separate on-site electric generation; recognizing that public water and sewer are not available in some locations and therefore allowing on-site water and sewer systems for data centers in affected zoning districts; referencing other ordinances for compliance rather than attaching and incorporating them into the JMZO; allowing Wrightstown's fire marshal (rather than a volunteer fire chief) to conduct plan reviews; updating an exhibit reference; adding or revising cross references; and strengthening requirements to limit noise impacts and to require incorporation of new noise-suppression technologies as they become available.

Peggy Driscoll, chair of the township planning commission, had reported the commission recommended the JMZO amendment be advertised for adoption but advised monitoring the ordinance for technological changes; she also noted the Bucks County Planning Commission had raised waste-disposal and community-benefit issues in its review letter.

Solicitor Lizette said these Wrightstown-requested changes are substantive enough that the joint municipalities will need to re-review and re-vote the amendment; she said the revised JMZO will appear on the board's August 12 agenda for further action. No formal vote by the Newtown supervisors was taken on July 8.

The revision process will require each of the participating planning commissions and boards of supervisors to revisit their prior recommendations and, if they agree, re-send the amended ordinance to the joint committee for advertisement and a public hearing.