Falls Twp. Residents Protest Amazon Data Center Ahead Of Public Meeting

Residents filled the Falls Township public meeting room Monday evening to make their voices heard on the multi-billion dollar Amazon Web Services facility under construction.

Before the meeting, a group of about 50 local residents staged a protest outside the Falls Township building on Lincoln Highway.

The demonstration was part of mounting public anxiety over the project, which has drawn national attention since Amazon’s involvement was revealed last June.

In response to the growing public interest, Falls Township officials have scheduled a town hall meeting for July 14 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pennsbury High School East at 705 Hood Boulevard. Representatives from Amazon, PECO, and state officials are scheduled to give presentations and answer questions from the community.

Amanda Westerman, organizer of a petition that has gathered more than 3,800 signatures, asked the Falls Township Board of Supervisors to vote on a resolution for a six-month freeze on new applications for any new data centers.

Westerman said the signatories include residents, business owners, and workers living or working within a six-mile radius of the site, which sits on site of the former U.S. Steel plant.

“We need strict regulations and we need them enforced,” Westerman told supervisors. “They should not be optional. This is an emerging unregulated industry and it simply cannot be.”

The ongoing project at the Keystone Trade Center was approved as a “digital infrastructure campus” in March 2025. It features structures ranging from 112,000 to 217,000 square feet, totaling more than 2 million square feet.

Resident Kevin Schwaller presented supervisors with several proposals he described as within the township’s immediate authority. He advised the board to proactively publish Act 14 state permit notices online and to ban nondisclosure agreements (NDA) for future development projects.

“NDAs fundamentally undermine public trust,” Schwaller said.

Schwaller also recommended a municipal curative amendment to update the township’s zoning code, which currently does not define data centers.

“We need this 180-day pause so that permits coming — any future permits — will need to go through this process,” he said.

Additionally, he called for a general ordinance to enforce noise restrictions at residential property lines, arguing that a previous variance granted by the Zoning Hearing Board for the data center sites has limited the municipality’s enforcement abilities.

Resident Jennifer Metzger voiced worries about water consumption by the data center.

“Earth only has 3 percent fresh water and under half a percent is drinkable,” she said.

Toni Batiste, a township resident, called on supervisors to establish a fund paid into by businesses to assist residents with potential health issues or contamination from large industrial development.

Marie Larson Brown, a business owner and resident whose property sits about a mile from the site, questioned whether the township’s fire and police departments have the specialized training and resources required for any major incident at the data center.

“Do we have an emergency plan in effect if something happens to that building?” Larson Brown asked. “I want to know that there’s an emergency plan in effect that’ll go out if something happens — before it happens, not after.”

John Tadlock, a resident of Falls Township for more than 65 years, acknowledged the transparency concerns but noted that construction is already more than 50 percent complete and tens of millions of dollars have been spent.

“Once you recognize the need for data centers and accept that they need to be built somewhere, the question becomes where?” Tadlock said. He cited the site’s heavy industrial zoning, brownfield status, existing power infrastructure, and distance from residential zones as factors he feels are favorable.

Tadlock told opponents to focus on the additional Amazon buildings currently in the early stages of construction.

“Stay vigilant and concentrate your efforts where you can actually have an impact,” he said.

LevittownNow.com first reported that a data center was planned for the township in August 2024, and the project received formal approval in the spring 2025. Amazon Web Services worked to keep its involvement quiet for several months through an NDA before its connection was disclosed last June.

Through Pennsylvania’s zoning laws, municipalities cannot outright ban a specific land use and must permit it where it is deemed most reasonable.

Falls Township officials have previously stated that the data center and technical campus were approved under the standard land development process.

While discussions regarding potential legislative changes are underway in Harrisburg, the Falls Township project received high-profile, bipartisan backing.

Last summer, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick heralded the project, with Shapiro visiting the site in August 2025 and announcing state efforts to reduce red tape and streamline permitting.

Public notice for the project was advertised at taxpayer expense under state law, which mandates notifications in a print newspaper rather than digital outlets like LevittownNow.com. This news organization has been shown to reach eight out of every 10 adults in the area.

Amazon has not answered questions from this news organization on its utility usage or the number of jobs created in the township. Shapiro directed a reporter to Amazon for that information.