Neshannock Township supervisors are proposing zoning changes that would put more restrictions on data centers, and the draft would cover the buildings and the accessory uses that come with them.
The proposal is already in public view. New Castle News reported that the supervisors set a public-comment meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the municipal building, 3131 Mercer Road. Residents can also read the proposed changes at the township building on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
What The Ordinance Already Allows
Data centers are not a blank spot on the township map. A township supervisor and the secretary-treasurer said the zoning ordinance already allows them in industrial zones as a conditional use, New Castle News reported.
The proposed changes would regulate all data centers and accessory uses, and they would address establishment, construction and operation. Township supervisor and secretary-treasurer Leslie S. Bucci said state legislation around data centers has changed, and that the township is updating the ordinance to protect residents, property and the community.
That work has been underway since June, timed to concerns that arrived alongside state-law revisions on data centers. The local question is no longer whether a server hall can be imagined in an industrial district. It is what conditions the township wants on the books before one is built and run.
How The Draft Has Moved
The planning commission reviewed the proposed changes at meetings on April 20 and May 18. The township then forwarded the commission's initial comments to its consultants, Strategic Solutions.
Another review is on the calendar. The planning commission is set to take up the draft again at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the township building, ahead of the supervisors' Wednesday comment session.
People with questions can call the township at 724-658-4972. The Wednesday session is for public comment on a proposal, not a report that the ordinance has been adopted or that any final text is already in force.
Why Power And Water Are Driving Local Rules
Pennsylvania has become an attractive place for artificial-intelligence data centers, and the facilities' growing demand for electricity and water is raising questions about local impact, 90.5 WESA reported on Nov. 2. The state's energy resources and its location near major East Coast cities are part of the appeal for companies developing the facilities.
The footprint is wider than the building. WESA cited water used to generate electricity, pressure on public water supplies, new infrastructure and the conversion of farmland to industrial development.
The project count is already past the speculative stage. Spotlight PA reported that 27 data-center projects were in some stage of the state's permitting process, including three approved by the Department of Environmental Protection. Neshannock's rewrite sits in that larger queue, even if the township's own draft is still a local zoning document.
A Model Other Counties Put On Paper
Townships looking for language have a statewide reference point. An April 2026 data-center ordinance guide prepared by the Chester County and Montgomery County planning commissions is written for the largest facilities, those over 100,000 square feet. The guide says its model language should be integrated fully under a conditional-use process, the same general path Neshannock already uses for data centers in industrial zones.
The model says data centers shall be designed to include a closed-loop water circulation system.
That is a recommendation in a planning guide, not the text of Neshannock's proposal. It addresses how a facility cools itself.
What Other Townships Have Already Written
Hazle Township has already pushed a draft toward its supervisors. After 150 minutes of negative comments at an Oct. 29 special meeting at Hazleton Area High School, planners met for 30 minutes and unanimously voted to send the rules on, PennLive reported. Their recommendations included limits on how long diesel generators can run, separate reviews if modular nuclear reactors are proposed, safeguards against lithium-ion battery fires, and authority for the township to hire experts to review studies. They also recommended raising the developer's decommissioning bond from 110% to 120% of estimated decommissioning cost.
A Hazle draft described by the Standard-Speaker would keep data-center structures 1,250 feet from any residential lot line and 200 feet from a stream, waterway or wetland. It also discussed closed-loop or waterless cooling, an agreement to be served by public water, and an agreement to purchase power. Nearby, Kline Township supervisors on Sept. 30 gave land-development approval to a nine-building data center proposed by Amazon Web Services.
In Butler County, a Summit Township draft described by CitizenPortal.ai included pre- and post-construction noise and vibration studies, groundwater and well protections, chemical-handling rules, five-year updates and a 110% decommissioning bond.
Harrisburg has a related, unfinished idea. A fiscal note on House Bill 2496 describes a provision that would let municipalities pause consideration of covered data-center applications for up to 180 days, and use that time to adopt, amend or repeal land-use rules on data centers. Covered facilities would have peak demand of at least 25 megawatts, plus specified server, power and cooling infrastructure. The note describes the bill. It does not establish that the pause is law.
In Neshannock, the next dates are local. The draft is available on weekdays at the township building, the planning commission's review is set for 7 p.m. Monday, and public comment before the supervisors is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday at 3131 Mercer Road.
