Data centers are permitted only within the mapped Data Center Overlay District and require conditional-use approval; applicants must also comply with the underlying zoning district and other applicable Township regulations.

A data-center lot must contain at least two acres of contiguous net lot area and be at least 100 feet wide at the building setback line.

Required setbacks include 50 feet from the front right-of-way line, 50-foot side and rear yards, and at least 50 feet from all property lines for above-ground accessory structures and facilities.

Where a data center or accessory facility abuts a residential or agricultural zone or use, the applicant must provide a berm at least six feet high, with a 2:1 slope, native screening planted at the top, and 12-foot-high screen plantings; the screening must be permanently maintained. The Board may modify these requirements after a conditional-use hearing if existing vegetation or an alternative design provides equivalent screening.

Structures are limited to 50 feet in height, although the Board may allow up to 80 feet through conditional-use review. Roof-mounted mechanical or accessory equipment, including solar and other renewable-energy systems, may not exceed 25 feet above the roof.

Impervious coverage may not exceed 75 percent of the lot, and at least 10 percent of the lot, excluding stormwater facilities, must remain green or open space.

Ground- and roof-mounted equipment must receive visual and audible screening, including cooling systems, generators, substations, transformers, fuel cells, and renewable-energy systems. Ground-mounted screening must generally be at least three feet higher than the highest accessory, while roof-mounted screening must be at least 12 feet high and set back at a 1:1 ratio.

Electrical substations serving a data center must have an opaque, man-made visual barrier at least 12 feet high, with access and ventilation for maintenance and operation.

The ordinance imposes façade-design requirements, including consistent design and materials, avoidance of monolithic surfaces, and specified elements such as changes in height, recesses, projections, fenestrations, or changes in material, pattern, texture, color, or accents.

Noise is limited to 65 dB(A) or 10 dB(A) above ambient, whichever is greater, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 55 dB(A) from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday. Vibration perceptible without instruments beyond the property line is prohibited. Generators exceeding the limits may not be tested between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., except that the limits exclude emergency power periods caused by outages.

Applicants and owners must fund a prospective acoustical study, an interim study during building permitting, and an as-built study six months after the certificate of occupancy. If the as-built study shows noncompliance, the owner must add or improve mitigation and conduct additional studies.

The Township may require, at the owner's expense and no more than once every 12 months, a continuous two-week noise-monitoring study, with results due within 14 days after completion. Following a power outage, the facility must return to compliance within eight hours after power is restored.

The applicant must obtain utility will-serve documentation or a certified engineering assessment demonstrating sufficient electrical, water, and sewer capacity for the proposed facility and future growth. The applicant must pay for required system improvements; on-site utility methods may be considered only when necessary improvements are found infeasible.

If wells will supply cooling water, the applicant must submit a hydrogeologist-prepared Well Withdrawal Impact Study, including withdrawal rates, a minimum 48-hour constant-rate test, monitoring of wells and streams, drought analysis where available, and an assessment of effects on groundwater, surface water, and existing wells.

Well water may not be used for cooling if the impact study shows adverse effects on groundwater quantity or quality. The Township may require post-construction monitoring, including continuous monitoring if adverse effects are found; unresolved adverse impacts after 30 days may result in revocation of conditional-use approval unless the Board grants an extension.

Projects must obtain Delaware River Basin Commission review and approval for withdrawals of at least 100,000 gallons per day averaged over 30 days from the Delaware River Basin, or consumptive use of at least 20,000 gallons per day averaged over 30 days. Wastewater-disposal methods must also be approved by the Sewage Enforcement Officer and/or Pennsylvania DEP.

A grid-connected data center must provide electric-provider documentation confirming available capacity, service, and mitigation of known adverse impacts on other users. If it cannot connect to the grid, an energy-generation system exceeding 25 MW that supplies the data center during normal operations is treated as a separate use requiring separate zoning approval.

The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed power supply will not harm public health, safety, or welfare, cause unreasonable public utility disruptions or outages, or create electrical disturbances affecting equipment beyond the property line.

Utility lines from substations to data centers must be placed underground to the extent practical, unless the utility company requires above-ground lines or underground installation is infeasible.

A conditional-use application must include an environmental impact study prepared by an environmental engineer addressing groundwater, surface water, the Schuylkill River, air, soil, combustible materials, releases, fine particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, and impacts such as odor, noise, smoke, dust, glare, heat islands, vibration, and electrical disturbance. Identified impacts must be prevented or mitigated under a plan approved by the Board.

Facilities must post current 24-hour emergency contact information at access entrances and update it within three days of any change.

Applicants must demonstrate a second emergency means of ingress and egress and obtain written Fire Chief approval for emergency access, truck turning, fire suppression, and hydrant availability.

Applicants must submit an Emergency Response Plan addressing NFPA 75, NFPA 72, NFPA 855, fire suppression and evacuation, emergency access, responder training, annual fire-safety inspections, qualified-professional standards, and continuity of essential operations. The plan must be accepted by the Fire Chief and emergency-management services.

Applicants must submit a Township-approved Hazardous Materials Safety Plan covering construction and operational materials, including batteries, generator fuels, hazardous-waste and eWaste handling, EPCRA reporting, chemical management, air emissions, spill prevention, and applicable state and federal requirements.

Battery Energy Storage Systems must comply with NFPA 855 or similar standards, use battery-specific fire suppression, coordinate with local fire officials, and recycle lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries through licensed vendors rather than disposing of them as general waste.

Backup-generator fuel storage requires a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan when aggregate diesel storage exceeds 1,320 gallons; certification by a licensed professional engineer is required when above-ground diesel storage exceeds 10,000 gallons. Underground fuel storage is prohibited.

Tanks storing flammable or otherwise hazardous materials may not be closer than 50 feet to a property line or closer than 100 feet to any property, and hazardous-material storage must include required spill containment and environmental protections.

If nuclear power systems, including small modular units, are proposed, the applicant must coordinate an Emergency Response Plan and/or Hazard Mitigation Plan with the Berks County Department of Emergency Services.

When data-center operations cease, the owner must restore the property to its prior condition and remove unused equipment, structures, and containment ponds unless the site is purchased for reuse or redevelopment within one year. A decommissioning agreement with the Township must ensure completion within 12 months after cessation.

Unless the Board agrees otherwise, the data center must meet or exceed the Uptime Institute Tier 3 or equivalent standard, as determined by the Township Engineer or a Township-selected consultant.

The ordinance places the costs of required sound studies, noise monitoring, groundwater monitoring, necessary utility improvements, and related mitigation or compliance work on the applicant, owner, or occupant.

The ordinance expressly permits data centers by conditional use within the mapped Data Center Overlay District, allowing them to be developed in that district subject to the stated requirements. permitted by conditional use

Section 605 takes precedence when it conflicts with another zoning, subdivision, or land-development provision, protecting an approved data center from inconsistent requirements elsewhere in the Township ordinances. Section 605 shall apply and take precedence

The definition of a data center broadly includes associated equipment, accessory structures, substations, cooling and water facilities, backup systems, renewable-energy systems, cogeneration equipment, and other ancillary infrastructure when developed as part of the same unified site or adjacent-parcel assemblage. all other systems, equipment, piping, conduit and other ancillary equipment

A building may reach 80 feet in height if the Board of Commissioners allows the increase through conditional-use review; the base maximum is 50 feet. increase up to 80 feet

The Board of Commissioners may modify the required berm and planting buffer when existing vegetation provides adequate screening or an equivalent result can be achieved through different requirements. subject to modification by the Board of Commissioners

The noise limits exclude emergency power operating because of a power outage, allowing that emergency operation to exceed the ordinary limits temporarily; generators and backup systems are restricted from testing only during the specified overnight period. excluding periods of emergency power due to power outages

A data center may use public utilities or approved private utilities. If public utility capacity is insufficient and required improvements are infeasible, the ordinance allows onsite utility methods to be considered for compliance. on-site utility methods may be considered

Utility lines from substations to a data center may be installed above ground when the utility company requires that arrangement or underground installation is not feasible; off-site lines to substations may also be above ground. if the utility company requires above-ground lines

The ordinance allows substations serving data center users on the same or adjacent site, or on a site immediately across a road right-of-way, supporting shared or nearby electrical infrastructure. on a site immediately across a road right-of-way

If a site is purchased for reuse or redevelopment within one year after data-center operations cease, the owner is not required under the decommissioning provision to restore the property to its pre-data-center condition. purchased to be reused or redeveloped within (1) year

The required Uptime Institute Tier 3 or equivalent design standard may be waived or reduced if the Board of Commissioners agrees otherwise. Unless otherwise agreed to by the Board of Commissioners