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Data center debates have taken over local discussions in a rural Northeast Pennsylvania community — and no one has even applied to build one yet.
In Luzerne County, residents at a Dorrance Township meeting yesterday echoed the concerns of many other communities facing the data center boom: environmental damage, stress on the water table and energy usage.
The Dorrance discussion is currently focused on very early-stage zoning laws, not specific land development projects. Learning from nearby townships that have gone through recent data center battles, they’re trying to prepare.
“Because if you don’t establish zoning for it, then someone says, ‘Well, I can do whatever I want to. You can’t stop me,’” Township Supervisor Kevin Gallagher said, alongside fellow supervisors Gary Zane and Bill Wengrzynek.
There’s “no paperwork from anybody on anything” related to data centers in Dorrance right now, according to Wengrzynek. So why has the topic taken over the town?
Township attorney Sean Logsdon said a visit from a local real estate consultant was “one of the initiating factors.”
Earlier this year, Jake Terkanian, real estate advisor and executive vice president at commercial real estate group CBRE, approached the township as a “consultant” with suggestions for rezoning areas with warehousing allowances for data center development, according to Logsdon.
At a June 9 board meeting, Terkanian said a data center could provide 300 to 500 high-paying jobs and millions of dollars going back to the township each year, assuring the community that the project would adhere to all local ordinances, according to meeting minutes.
That chat sparked immediate outcry, especially by people near South Main Road and Yeager Road, where Terkanian mentioned potential because of zoning ordinances already allowing for data centers to be built.
“There’s a piece of property that we know about that that person is looking into,” one resident said. “We know there’s something going on and we want to be very careful that it gets taken care of the right way.”
The push for zoning ordinance clarity is also a part of the township’s effort to stay on top of “hot-button” issues in the region generally, Logsdon said. Data centers are already popping up close to home, in nearby Salem and Hazle Townships.
If a particular project is proposed, it will still need to go through the standard land development review process. But residents at the meeting made it clear that protecting what makes Dorrance a rural area should be front of mind.
“The reason why they zoned it as conservation, that’s to protect the wetlands, the farmlands … against industry coming in,” one resident said. “I believe if this goes through, you’re going to ruin the quality of life in Dorrance.”
Terkanian did not immediately respond to Technical.ly’s request to clarify whether he spoke to the township as a CBRE representative or an independent consultant. CBRE declined to comment.
When it comes to a key place for building a data center, Luzerne seems to have it all.
The high-energy needs can be satiated by the local nuclear, natural gas and other power plants. The rural location provides the massive amount of land needed, while also being well connected to nearby cities via several major highways.
A cluster of local universities can provide the upskilling to get the local workforce up to speed for these new economy jobs. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania offers tax breaks and sped-up permitting incentives to build there.
Why Dorrance, specifically? It’s more of a “why not,” said Gallagher, the township manager, speculating on the motivations that drive data center developers.
“I’m sure they fly over and do all kinds of looking and say, ‘Hey, here’s a lot of land … here’s a gas line,” he said.
While there’s no specific proposal for his township yet, there is momentum.
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Amazon Web Services announced plans to build a data center near the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Township last month as part of its $20 billion investment in the commonwealth. Plus, NorthPoint Development recently got the go-ahead to build a 15-building data center campus in Hazle Township, the Times Leader reported.
Moving forward, the Shapiro administration is actively working to gain additional data center sites across Pennsylvania, the governor’s office said last month.
So in Dorrance, the only option is to figure it out now, before it’s too late.
“The conversation is already taking place or starting to take place,” one Dorrance resident said at the town meeting. “Once the foot’s in the door … things start quickly.”
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