Oakland Township supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt the township's first set of rules governing data centers, setting a 15-acre minimum lot size and requiring monthly groundwater reports even though no company has proposed building one there. The vote came after roughly 25 people showed up to the board meeting, and after months of the township shelving the issue while it worked out the details.
No Project on the Table, but Rules Now in Place
As Butler Eagle reported, no data centers have been proposed within the township, and Oakland Township currently has no dedicated zoning ordinance at all. The new rules instead amend the township's subdivision and land development ordinance to cover data centers and accessory development. Oakland Township sits in Butler County, Pennsylvania, where several neighboring municipalities have spent 2026 racing to get their own data-center rules on the books.
Supervisor Shaun M. Krill, who led the board in the unanimous vote, said the board had been discussing data centers for about eight months before Wednesday's action. He also pushed back on claims circulating on social media that the board had acted quietly, calling those allegations false. The board had tabled the ordinance twice before, once at its July 1 meeting and again on Aug. 5, both times citing a need for further research, according to the same report.
What the Ordinance Requires
Under the new rules, data centers must sit on lots of at least 15 acres, though the ordinance sets no proposed maximum lot size. The Butler Eagle reports the ordinance also caps impervious surface coverage at 200,000 square feet per lot, a limit that includes buildings and access roads. Oakland Township's official ordinances page lists the measure as Ordinance 2026-26, titled Data Centers and Accessory Developments, under Chapter 19 of the township code, though the township cautions its online ordinance collection is still being assembled and advises residents to verify new measures directly with the township.
Operators will also have to send groundwater-monitoring data to the township engineer every month. Township solicitor Tom Smith, who drafted the ordinance and recommended its adoption, said data centers must pay for any water damage they cause and must pay township fees and costs in advance. He acknowledged the ordinance is imperfect but called it sufficient to adopt, adding that it could be strengthened later.
Loopholes and Lingering Questions
Smith told the board that a warehouse converted into a data center would still be subject to the ordinance, and that a large parcel could be subdivided to allow a second data center on the new lot. He also said Oakland Township cannot regulate a data center built just across its border, nor can it regulate state permits governing water withdrawals. Resident James Free asked about the ordinance's limits during the meeting, according to the report.
Smith explained that repairs for potential water damage would not happen within 24 hours, and that a data center disputing a damage determination would likely sue, with litigation potentially dragging on for years. He said he did not want to prolong the township's own process further, pointing to the ongoing data-center dispute in Forward Township as a cautionary example.
A Tech Entrepreneur Pushes Back
Resident Erin Schollaert, who owns a technology firm, asked the board to postpone adoption until the ordinance could be strengthened. She said the measure delays a data center's duty to repair a well until officials determine whether the facility caused the damage, and she asked who would pay for water testing and temporary water service in the meantime.
Schollaert also raised concerns that electricity costs could be passed on to residents, many of whom get their power from Central Electric Cooperative. She cited a Virginia legislative audit study projecting that data centers could raise household electric bills by as much as $40 a month. The board moved forward with adoption despite her objections.
How Neighboring Townships Are Handling the Same Issue
Oakland Township is far from alone in scrambling to write data-center rules this year. Penn Township officials said no project was pending there either when they enacted Ordinance 183 on Oct. 13, following four months of work by the township's land-use administrator, per the Butler Eagle. That measure makes data centers a conditional use in a small limited industrial district and requires public water and sewer service, noise limits, and impact studies. Penn Township's ordinance caps noise at 65 decibels during the day and 55 at night, with stricter limits near sensitive receptors, and requires developers to supply their own on-site power or seek an interconnection agreement if the grid can support the requested capacity.
Butler Township approved its own data-center ordinance following a public hearing, though the board may still adjust its approval pathway, according to the Times Leader. That ordinance permits data centers and accessory uses only by special exception in the township's Industrial zoning district and sets a 25-acre minimum lot size. The Times Leader reports the measure requires 600 feet of separation from sensitive receptors, while residents had objected to a 1,250-foot setback rather than the 2,000-foot buffer included in earlier drafts. A separate review from Community & Environmental Defense Services states that data center buildings and accessory uses must sit at least 1,250 feet from residential zoning district boundaries.
In Forward Township, residents packed a public meeting to challenge a proposed one-million-square-foot data and energy center campus near Connoquenessing Creek, according to CBS Pittsburgh. The developer behind the project, Misty Hollow, said it would use a closed-loop cooling system and would not draw water from the creek. The township's planning commission ultimately tabled the project without a vote, asking the developer to address concerns raised by the township engineer.
Township Business Beyond the Ordinance
Wednesday's meeting also covered routine township business. The board approved a preliminary 2027 budget and voted to advertise its adoption at the Dec. 2 meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Oakland Township Municipal Building. Supervisors also awarded the 2026 culvert replacement pipe contract to Key Precast Supply Company, with a bid of $14,100.20 covering 840 feet of pipe in diameters from 12 to 48 inches and two catch basins with grates for work on Shearer and Whitmire roads. The award remains pending the company's submission of required documents.
