Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wrightstown revisions prompt JMZO review; Newtown to re-vote on data center ordinance
Summary
Solicitor outlined Wrightstown Township’s changes to a proposed joint municipal zoning ordinance on data centers — including on-site utilities, noise protections and fire-marshal review — and said the amended draft will return to participating boards for revote and a public hearing on Aug. 12.
The township solicitor outlined a set of revisions Wrightstown Township requested to the joint municipal zoning ordinance (JMZO) governing data centers, and officials said the amended draft will return to participating municipalities for revote and a public hearing on Aug. 12.
Peggy Driscoll, chair of the township planning commission, told supervisors the commission recommended advertising and adoption of a JMZO amendment for data centers but asked that Bucks County Planning Commission review material be provided to the commission and jointure partners. "Our planner confirmed the importance of passing an ordinance quickly, and our members are eager to support the proposed changes," Driscoll said.
The solicitor described Wrightstown’s requested changes in detail: deleting a provision in Section 4(a) that Wrightstown did not wish to encourage; recognizing that some data center sites will rely on on-site water and sewer where public utilities are not available; referencing required ordinances for compliance rather than attaching them directly to the JMZO; assigning plan review to Wrightstown’s fire marshal rather than the volunteer fire chief; updating exhibit references; and adding or clarifying noise-protection provisions and cross-references. "There’s some substantive and some procedural, housekeeping, amendments," the solicitor said.
Board members asked procedural questions about next steps. The solicitor said each municipality’s planning commission must review the amended language, boards must revote to send the amended ordinance back to the jointure for advertisement, and the change will appear on the Aug. 12 agenda for further action.
Why it matters: the changes shift some technical compliance and review responsibilities (for example, local utility expectations and which fire official performs plan review) and add language intended to protect neighboring residents from noise. Because the JMZO is a joint municipal ordinance, the modifications require additional local reviews and votes before the ordinance can be advertised for public hearing.
What comes next: the solicitor said the revised draft will be on the Aug. 12 agenda for advertisement and public hearing after each planning commission has had an opportunity to review and the participating boards re-vote to forward the amendment to the jointure for formal advertisement.
