Data centers were again in focus in Northeast Pennsylvania this week as a local hearing was pushed back due to crowding while Gov. Josh Shapiro weighed in on the topic more generally during an unrelated event.
Residents from both the Abingtons and Scranton packed into the meeting room and hallway of the Ransom Twp. Municipal Building Thursday night to oppose a zoning change for a proposed data center in the township.
Less than an hour into the zoning hearing it was moved to Tuesday after objections from the crowd over the need for more space.
Earlier in the day Shapiro shared his thoughts on the need for local input in response to a WVIA News question during an appearance in Wyoming County.
Scranton Materials plan for Newton Road
Stone quarry owner Scranton Materials LLC, is the latest developer to propose constructing a data center campus in Northeast Pennsylvania, specifically Lackawanna County. There are at least five proposals in Archbald with more planned for Dickson City and Jessup and one large-scale campus in Clifton and Covington townships.
Scranton Materials plans to construct buildings to house servers for artificial intelligence or cloud computing, on its property at 819 Newton Road.
Attorney Mike Mey from Mey and Sulla in Dunmore represents Scranton Materials. He said that the company applied for a zoning overlay on Nov. 25.
An overlay is an additional layer to existing zoning districts, essentially adding another use for the land.
Data centers are energy-intensive nondescript warehouse-like buildings that must be powered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Inside are many rows of servers that store anything from artificial intelligence to photos uploaded to the cloud. Those racks of servers run hot and must be kept cool. Often, the centers use water to provide that cooling.
The Abington and Scranton residents are the latest in Northeast Pennsylvania to join a community effort to regulate data centers. Many residents, especially in the Mid Valley and the North Pocono area, do not want the industry near their homes or schools. They worry about noise and air pollution and the harmful impacts of the industry on both people and animals.
Objections to the hearing
The property in Ransom Twp. borders West Scranton. It is currently zoned as S1, which is an open space/conservation district, township Solicitor Kevin Conaboy said.
“The property has been used as a quarry by Scranton Materials as a non-conforming use, which predated the passage of the zoning ordinance,” he said.
Mey said they attended the township’s planning commission meeting On Dec. 15, and provided a copy of the proposed ordinance to create a Data Center Overlay District. The commission then held a special meeting on Monday to review the ordinance.
“We were here again on Monday, again, looking for comments, any type of objection, any type of improvement to the proposed overlay ordinance,” he said. “We've received nothing, so we intend to proceed as directed by the board of supervisors, to be here tonight to have the matter heard.”
Scranton resident Laura McGarry lives in the Fawnwood Heights Development, which is less than a mile down the road from the quarry in Scranton. Many other residents of the development attended the meeting as well as Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and council president Tom Schuster and council member Mark McAndrew.
McGarry, who is a lawyer, raised three objections before the hearing began.
“I do not believe that this … application is properly procedurally before the board of supervisors,” she said.
She added that the developer’s zoning application does not “comply with the requirements of the zoning ordinance.”
The plot plan and the reasonable, accurate description of the present and planned improvements which were not attached to the developer’s application, she said.
“I requested a copy of the amendment, as did other neighbors of ours, and were not provided one,” she said.
When she reached out for the application, McGarry said she only received one page.
Conaboy held up the application, which includes an application page, a list of adjoining property owners and a map.
“In addition, there are dozens of people in the hallway that cannot hear what's happening here, McGarry said. “They've been offered the opportunity to participate as a party and cross examine witnesses. How can they cross examine witnesses that they can't hear testify?”
What’s next
Conaboy asked if there was any objection to continuing the hearing beyond the 60 days from the initial application in November.
“Yes, on behalf of Scranton Materials, we would object,” Mey said. “We've complied with each and every request that's been made by the township. It's prejudicial for, under these circumstances, my client not to have the hearing take place that's scheduled for today.”
“It’s prejudicial to everybody in this room, to not have an opportunity to review or to hear what's happening here,” McGarry shot back.
Mey said if the hearing was not conducted Thursday, that they would stand on the Pennsylvania Municipal Code “with respect to timing.”
“We have 60 days from the date of the application to conduct this hearing, unless we can get an agreement from all parties involved that it be continued,” Conaboy said. “The applicant is not agreeing, which is their right, if the hearing is not conducted within 60 days, then it's what's called the deemed approval, which means what they've requested goes through without a hearing.”
He said that could lead to a fight in court to determine if a hearing needs to be held at a later date.
“How come we didn't get a notice until the middle of January, if this took place on Nov. 25?” township resident Ken Cruser asked.
He said he asked a township employee last week for information about the zoning overlay.
“She told me there was no information to be given to me as a Ransom taxpaying citizen, and it's appalling,” he said.
After going into a brief executive session, township supervisors David Bird, Robert Wells and Gerard Scott decided to move the hearing until Tuesday at 6 p.m. It will be held in the township building’s garage.
Scranton’s concerns about proposed project
The Keyser Valley Neighborhood Association held a community meeting Wednesday ahead of the hearing.
Cognetti was at the meeting. She said the city has a litany of concerns about Scranton Materials proposal.
“We have been in this room together for years, working on fixing the storm water issues we have now. We cannot have them get worse,” she said.
Because of development, stormwater runs off West Mountain and contributes to flooding in the Keyser Valley section of Scranton. In September 2023, heavy rainfall caused deadly flash flooding. The Keyser Valley area was one of the worst hit areas in the city.
Cognetti wants to slow down the development and get more answers.
“We need to have more conversations. We need people at the table that understand what these overlays would be, what the stormwater risk would be,” she said.
She said it would be catastrophic if something impacted the city’s stormwater improvements.
“It's not anti-data center full stop. There will be data centers in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” she said. “Let's make sure, though, that we are following the best practices, that we're doing them in a way where the community stands to benefit.”
Shapiro weighs in on centers generally
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was in Tunkhannock Thursday to talk about substance abuse prevention and recovery.
WVIA News asked him about the local opposition to many of the proposed data center developments in Northeast Pennsylvania.
“It's critically important that local voices be heard in this process, and whether it's a data center or some other business, it needs to be cited in a place where it can spur on economic growth and economic opportunity for a community, while not negatively impacting neighbors or negatively impacting our environment or our air quality or water quality,” he said. “And I think it's really important to strike a balance on all of those things for data centers or other developments.”
He said it's important for residents' voices to be included in the planning process for these developments.
Shapiro said they are getting ready to announce standards at the state.
“That we hope local communities will be able to use as a guide to evaluate whether a project is in keeping with the needs of a community or and the commonwealth, or whether it runs counter to,” he said.
