Middletown Drafting Ordinance To Regulate Data Center Development

Amid growing worry over data center development and the impact the facilities have on people and the planet, Middletown Township officials announced this week that they are drafting new regulations.

Jim Ennis, the township’s director of building and zoning, briefed the public and the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors during Monday evening’s public meeting.

“What you’re seeing right now is a lot of communities all throughout Pennsylvania, townships and boroughs are putting requirements in place in preparation,” Ennis said.

Local officials across the state have pushed for greater authority to regulate the facilities.

As part of Pennsylvania’s zoning laws, municipalities cannot outright ban a specific land use and must permit it somewhere within the municipality where it is deemed most reasonable.

“We cannot restrict them from the community. It’s just not allowed. It’s exclusionary zoning,” Ennis explained. “We again have to figure out the best place to put them.”

The township’s planners are crafting an ordinance that would classify data centers as a conditional use restricted solely to M1 light manufacturing zoning districts.

Ennis said that even without these new rules, the township’s current M1 zoning contains provisions that could allow a data center to seek approval.

A main element of the draft ordinance is the protection of “sensitive receptors,” a list of specific land uses that includes residential properties, schools, preschools, daycare centers, and nursing homes. Data centers would be required to maintain strict setback distances from those types of locations.

The proposal will look to regulate noise, vibration, energy consumption, water usage, and emergency responses.

Any final rules must be carefully reviewed by the township solicitor to be certain they do not run afoul of state zoning laws, Ennis stressed.

As currently written, the draft sets noise limits at 75 decibels, which lines up with the township’s existing noise ordinance.

“My research shows that that’s pretty loud,” Supervisor Dana Kane said of the 75 decibel limit.

Ennis responded that he plans to look further into the noise level limits.

Kane also suggested reducing the current 60 percent impervious surface coverage limit allowed in M1 districts, pointing to the typically large footprints of data center buildings.

As part of the emergency services sections of the ordinance, Ennis plans to work with the fire marshal’s office, police department, and ambulance squad.

For the draft ordinance, Ennis is pulling information from the Bucks County Planning Commission, existing codes in other Bucks County municipalities, and a recently released model ordinance from the Montgomery County Planning Commission.

While the draft currently stands at six pages, Ennis said the final version could be longer once all recommendations are placed in it.

Supervisor Vice President Ryan Leighton said he understands the frustration residents feel regarding data center expansion, but noted the local government’s hands are tied when it comes to outright blocking them.

Leighton told residents looking for tighter restrictions to lobby their state and federal lawmakers. He pointed to pending bills in the state House and Senate that would either implement a moratorium on data center developments or grant municipalities stronger regulatory oversight.

“Legally speaking, we don’t really have the tools to deal with it as much as we would like to, but we could get it. We just need approval from Harrisburg,” Leighton said.

In neighboring Falls Township, Amazon Web Services is building a multibillion-dollar data center at the Keystone Trade Center. The project was first discussed publicly in 2024 and approved for construction in 2025, sparking growing concern among local residents as construction progresses.

Township officials said no data centers have been proposed for the municipality and is not being sought.

The proposed Middletown Township ordinance is scheduled to come before the township planning commission in August.

If the timeline holds, it could move to the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors for potential adoption as early as September.