New Garden adopts new zoning ordinance, imposes 180‑day pause on data‑center applications

The New Garden Township Board of Supervisors on July 20 adopted a comprehensive replacement zoning ordinance and map after a 26‑month public process and, immediately afterward, approved a curative amendment that pauses data‑center applications for 180 days.

Township manager Chris Himes told the board the ordinance is a wholesale modernization — the first major rewrite since about 1998 — developed with a task force, multiple public meetings and a Planning Commission recommendation. "This has been 26 months of progress," Himes said, describing efforts to align the map with the comprehensive plan while protecting historical and environmental resources.

The ordinance was presented to the public in an advertised hearing before the board voted to adopt it later in the evening. Resident commenters asked whether the draft had changed since an April 29 version; staff confirmed there had been no substantive changes since April and that county review comments were advisory.

Minutes after adopting the ordinance, the board considered Resolution 2026‑013, a curative amendment that invokes the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code to declare certain zoning provisions temporarily ineffective to allow the township up to 180 days to craft specific rules for data centers. Winnie, speaking for the board during the hearing, said the moratorium is intended to "give us time to put together data‑center regulations that are more appropriate" and to prevent immediate applications or appeals to the zoning hearing board while those regulations are prepared.

Supporters on the board said the pause is a focused, temporary measure to protect residents while staff develops regulations about energy, water usage and other community impacts. Himes and other staff emphasized the moratorium is not a permanent ban but a window for public process and drafting; "we're effectively putting in a six‑month moratorium to do what works for New Garden Township," staff stated.

The board approved both the ordinance and the curative amendment by voice vote. The public hearing record for the ordinance included proof of publication, Chester County certification, Planning Commission minutes and county comments that staff plans to address as advisory input.

The new ordinance and the resolution set a schedule for follow‑on public meetings and regulatory drafting. According to staff, the zoning ordinance adoption will be followed by targeted public sessions to shape data‑center regulations and to respond to the county and state guidance that has emerged since the ordinance was completed.

What's next: staff will advertise and schedule the follow‑up process required to complete the data‑center regulations within the statutory time frame and return to the board with proposed language for public review.