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Pennsylvania Towns Push Back on Data Centers
Coverage from The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Allegheny Front, and others
Pennsylvania municipalities are imposing moratoria, adding requirements, and rejecting proposed data centers as local officials and residents scrutinize water use, noise, pollution, power impacts, and land-use plans.
Upper Merion Township denied five applications from Brian O'Neill's MLP Ventures for a roughly 4.6-million-square-foot campus near King of Prussia after months of opposition and litigation over the review process. Decisions in Upper Burrell and Brookville show that other towns are pausing new projects while they write local rules, leaving developers to navigate stricter reviews and possible appeals.
If you read one thing
It anchors the topic in Upper Merion’s rejection and lawsuit while connecting the dispute to broader local approval and state siting rules.
Best explainer
Its detailed account of Upper Burrell’s draft rules shows how a township is addressing project siting, power, operating impacts, and legal constraints.
The local angle
Brookville provides a distinct local example of a moratorium driven by projected water demand and infrastructure concerns.
Local approval is a major development gate
Municipalities are using denials, moratoria, and proposed operating rules to control whether and how data centers can proceed. Upper Merion rejected five applications, while Brookville and Upper Burrell have paused or are regulating projects as they develop local requirements.
Local impacts and infrastructure shape scrutiny
Water demand, noise, power supply, fire safety, and other community impacts are central to the scrutiny projects face and the rules towns are considering. Brookville cited potential strain from projected water use, and Upper Burrell’s draft ordinance addresses water, noise, power, and siting.
Legal challenges keep approvals contested
Court action and appeals continue to complicate local review and the status of proposed projects. The Upper Merion developer is challenging the rejection, while an Upper Burrell community group is appealing a project allowed under current zoning.
1,000 feet
setback from residentially zoned areas
“The township’s draft ordinance would require a 500-foot setback from property lines and 1,000 feet from residentially zoned areas. It would require new data centers to provide their own power and establish rules for fire protection, water use, noise, lighting and visual screening. The proposed noise cap is 75 decibels.”
500-foot feet
setback from property lines
“The township’s draft ordinance would require a 500-foot setback from property lines and 1,000 feet from residentially zoned areas. It would require new data centers to provide their own power and establish rules for fire protection, water use, noise, lighting and visual screening. The proposed noise cap is 75 decibels.”
75 decibels
proposed noise cap
“The township’s draft ordinance would require a 500-foot setback from property lines and 1,000 feet from residentially zoned areas. It would require new data centers to provide their own power and establish rules for fire protection, water use, noise, lighting and visual screening. The proposed noise cap is 75 decibels.”
five proposals
number of data center proposals rejected
“At an Aug. 13 meeting, the supervisors unanimously rejected O’Neill’s five data center proposals, saying they lacked sufficient specificity, including on fire-safety issues, and did not meet zoning requirements.”
4.6 million square feet
proposed data center campus size
“Developer Brian O’Neill has sued the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors over its rejection of his proposed 4.6 million-square-foot data center campus in King of Prussia.”
Developer challenges Upper Merion’s rejection in court
After Upper Merion rejected the five data center proposals, developer Brian O’Neill sued the township, seeking to overturn the denial and obtain preliminary approval. The rejection is now an active court dispute, rather than only a decision the developer might appeal.
Previously
Upper Merion Township rejected five proposed data center projects totaling more than 4.6 million square feet near King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, after months of resident opposition and litigation over the review process. Residents raised concerns about noise, water use, pollution, electricity costs, grid effects, and quality of life, while developer Brian O’Neill cited jobs, tax revenue, self-supplied power, and closed-loop cooling. Separately, Upper Burrell and Brookville imposed 180-day moratoria as they develop local requirements for future projects.
The current version largely confirms the previously established pattern of Pennsylvania municipalities scrutinizing or pausing data center development; it adds no material new event or outcome.
Upper Merion’s process moved from review and delay to outright rejection of five major data center applications. The story now also includes court involvement and a potential appeal, making local permitting conflict more consequential.