Rapho Township adopts data-center rules, requires conditional-use review

Rapho Township supervisors on July 16 adopted an ordinance that adds definitions and location rules for data centers, permitting them only in the Industrial zoning district and only after Conditional Use review.

Township Manager Randall Wenger said the change is intended to ensure projects are reviewed for technical impacts. "Data Centers are currently a use not provided for and this proposed ordinance governs where they can be located which is in the Industrial Zone and they would need to be approved through a Conditional Use Hearing before the Board of Supervisors," Wenger said. Wenger further told residents that data centers must connect to public water; the township anticipates closed-loop cooling systems for most facilities.

Residents asked whether large water draws could affect private wells and whether a developer could acquire agricultural land and rezone it. Wenger and the Board said spot zoning is prohibited and that connection to public sewer and water is required for these industrial uses; emergency-responder review and a noise mitigation plan are among the issues addressed at Conditional Use. The board closed the hearing and approved Ordinance 2026-4 by unanimous vote (motion by Mark Erb; second by Randy Fox).