Lower Merion Township officials are weighing a zoning overhaul that would squeeze future data centers into a narrow industrial strip along the Schuylkill River in Bala Cynwyd, capping their height, their noise and how much water and electricity they can draw. The proposal would amend the township zoning code to specifically regulate data center construction and operation for the first time.
A Sliver Of Riverside Land Set Aside
Under the draft ordinance, data centers would be restricted to Lower Merion's Light Industrial zoning district, a stretch of land that sits between the Schuylkill Expressway and the river in the township's southeast corner, according to Patch. That district runs along the river in Bala Cynwyd and includes the ironworks at Pencoyd Landing, the AFC Fitness gym, and buildings off Righters Ferry Road next to the Pencoyd Landing developments. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the rule would limit data center proposals to that sliver of industrial-zoned land, including the former Pencoyd Iron Works site.
The proposed ordinance would cap data center height at 60 feet and require any facility to sit at least 1,000 feet from residential zoning districts. Developers would need to submit water and wastewater capacity studies, drought response plans, and a decommissioning plan for safely removing equipment if a facility ever shuts down.
Two Public Reviews Ahead
The Lower Merion Planning Commission is scheduled to consider recommending the ordinance at a meeting starting at 7 p.m. Monday, per Patch's report. The commission functions as an advisory body, sending its land-use recommendations on to the township's Board of Commissioners rather than issuing a final decision itself. The Inquirer reports the proposal will then go before the township's Building and Planning Committee on November 11, with committee feedback and public comment expected before any vote by the full Board of Commissioners.
The Inquirer reports that Lower Merion's zoning code does not currently define or regulate data centers as a distinct land use. The growth of artificial intelligence has helped drive demand for data centers, whose electricity use and local impacts have drawn attention.
A Statewide Scramble Over Power And Water
Lower Merion's effort fits into a broader wave of Pennsylvania interest in data centers, which the Data Center Tracker counts at roughly 100 current or future facilities statewide, Patch reports. Pennsylvania has become an attractive location for AI data centers even as their electricity and water demands raise questions about local effects, according to WITF. The computers inside these facilities rely on graphics processing units that require substantial amounts of electricity, and many large data centers also use water to cool their equipment, WITF notes. The outlet reports that communities are being urged to weigh how multiple projects might strain the same watershed or power supply, rather than reviewing each proposal on its own.
A Data Center Ordinance Guide jointly published by the Montgomery County and Chester County planning commissions is intended to help municipalities prepare for potential data center development, according to the Montgomery County Planning Commission. The Inquirer reports that Pennsylvania municipalities themselves cannot legally ban data centers outright.
Neighboring Townships Have Already Moved
Lower Merion would join a growing list of Montgomery County communities writing their own data center rules. Whitemarsh's own draft ordinance would allow data centers by conditional use in six of the township's zoning districts, require a minimum 500-foot setback from residential districts, and mandate closed-loop water circulation systems unless an alternative cooling method used less water and energy, according to MoreThanTheCurve. That outlet also notes the draft calls for pre-construction and post-construction noise studies, and that West Conshohocken and Upper Merion have already adopted similar ordinances of their own.
Upper Merion's rules came after a contentious fight over a proposed cluster of data centers in that township. Eight data center projects totaling more than 4 million square feet were proposed there in May, submitted just days before the township passed its own tightly regulated data center ordinance, Patch reported at the time. The Upper Merion Board of Supervisors ultimately voted against a version of that cluster, which consisted of five locations totaling approximately 4.6 million square feet, according to NBC10 Philadelphia.
With the Planning Commission set to weigh in Monday and the Building and Planning Committee following on November 11, the proposal still faces committee feedback and public comment before it could reach a final vote by the Board of Commissioners.
