Data centers are allowed only as conditional uses in the Industrial District and the IC Interchange Commercial Overlay District, requiring discretionary conditional-use approval rather than approval as of right. conditional-use classification

Applicants must demonstrate compliance with the zoning ordinance, SALDO, and all applicable local, state, and federal requirements, and must show consistency with the Township comprehensive plan or identify mitigation for conflicts. compliance and comprehensive-plan requirements

Data centers and their accessory uses are subject to a maximum height of 50 feet, including rooftop equipment. maximum building height

Data centers must meet a 100-foot front setback from the road centerline and a 50-foot side and rear setback from property lines. They generally must also be 1,000 feet from a Sensitive Receptor property line, although the Township may allow a setback of 500 to 999 feet if enhanced environmental, noise, screening, aesthetic, and thermal-impact protections are demonstrated. setback requirements

Applicants must provide preliminary, interim, and as-built sound studies. Normal operations are limited to 60 dB(A) and dB(C) during weekday daytime hours and 55 dB(A) and dB(C) during weekday nighttime and weekend hours, measured at the use's property line; nighttime noise at an off-site Sensitive Receptor may not exceed 45 dB(A) and dB(C). multi-stage noise studies and limits

Noise limits apply during power outages, and sound studies must evaluate emergency generators and other emergency power equipment. Noise violations require corrective action, and the operator must reimburse the Township for an independent noise expert if the expert confirms a violation. emergency-power noise requirements

Air, dust, smoke, glare, exhaust, heat, and humidity from the use must not be perceptible at or beyond the property line; offensive odors and steam are prohibited at specified neighboring boundaries; and a professional vibration study must show that vibration will not be perceptible beyond the property line. negative-impact restrictions

Data center operating equipment must be housed in a metered, electrically grounded, pre-engineered metal-encased structure with at least a 30-minute internal electrical-fire rating and automatically closing fire baffles that operate independently of possible electrical-system failure. equipment fire-containment requirements

Applicants must submit an Emergency Response Plan addressing fire suppression, containment, ventilation, evacuation, emergency access, responder training, radio coverage, emergency supplies, and a 24-hour emergency contact. The local fire department and emergency-management services must review or accept the plan, and the Township may not approve a data center without sufficiently protective procedures. Emergency Response Plan requirements

Any energy production system supplying a data center during normal operations is treated as a separate use rather than as part of the data center and requires separate approval under applicable zoning regulations. separate approval for normal-operation energy systems

A data center using commercial electric service must provide an interconnection agreement and utility documentation showing sufficient capacity, safe infrastructure, power quality, reliability, and no harmful voltage fluctuations; the applicant or developer must pay the full cost of infrastructure upgrades caused by the project. electric-capacity and upgrade-cost requirements

Before completion or occupancy approval, the applicant must provide written verification that the electrical work passed a third-party inspection. third-party electrical inspection

Applicants must provide raw-water needs analyses and, when relying on nonpublic water, a water feasibility study addressing wells, groundwater, surface water, safe yield, impacts, recycling or discharge, and nearby water resources. The Township may retain an independent hydrologist at the applicant's cost, and no data center may be approved without sufficient water and no adverse impact on nearby wells. water feasibility requirements

Applicants must exhaust reasonable efforts to use existing public or private waterlines before proposing local-aquifer or surface-water withdrawals and must demonstrate closed-loop heating and cooling technology to the extent feasible. water-source and cooling requirements

Projects meeting specified thresholds must obtain Susquehanna River Basin Commission review and approval: withdrawals of at least 100,000 gallons per day averaged over 30 days, or consumptive use of at least 20,000 gallons per day averaged over 30 days. SRBC thresholds

Applicants must demonstrate approved means and volume for domestic wastewater and cooling or industrial wastewater disposal and comply with applicable water-quality requirements. wastewater-disposal requirements

Data center applications require environmental, community, traffic, economic-property-value, historic and cultural-resource, PNDI, and environmental-impact studies, with additional well testing or Phase I or Phase II environmental assessments allowed before SALDO approval. required impact studies

A traffic impact analysis must cover construction and operation and examine roads, intersections, bridges, and interchanges within one-half mile of the site, projected traffic volumes, trip-generation sources, trip origins and destinations, and proposed mitigation. traffic-study requirements

Data centers must provide perimeter vegetative buffering, generally within 50 feet of required fencing, with year-round screening capable of substantially screening the facility within 36 months; at least 20% of plantings must be pollinator-friendly, and dead or diseased plantings must be replaced. screening and buffering requirements

Fences may not exceed eight feet in height, and site lighting must be dark-sky compliant, fully shielded, and designed so that no lighting spills beyond the property line. fence and lighting restrictions

The Township must consider cumulative impacts from similar or high-intensity uses within five miles, common-control projects, and foreseeable phased development or expansion, and may require additional studies or deny approval if cumulative impacts threaten water, energy reliability, environmental resources, transportation, or community character. cumulative-impact review

Any expansion, intensification, change in operational capacity or cooling technology, increase in water or energy demand, or addition of accessory infrastructure beyond the approved scope requires separate approval and does not acquire a vested right through the original approval. separate approval for expansion or operational changes

A data center must submit a decommissioning plan covering removal of structures and hazardous materials, soil stabilization, utility disconnection, and restoration of the site. If the facility is not operated for 12 continuous months, it is presumed discontinued; the owner then has six months to dismantle and remove the facility and restore the land. decommissioning deadlines

At construction-permit issuance, the owner or operator must provide financial security equal to 110% of estimated decommissioning costs, maintain it throughout the project, and update it every five years; Township engineering costs for estimating or reviewing the amount are charged to the owner or operator. decommissioning financial-security requirement

Energy production systems are themselves conditional uses; behind-the-meter generation is subject to environmental, safety, and utility-interconnection standards, and proposed generators must be Tier 4 or greater and operate at the lowest feasible dB(A) and dB(C) levels. energy-production restrictions

A nuclear energy production system requires preliminary and post-construction radiological land surveys, including perimeter measurements within 400 feet of residential, Sensitive Receptor, or commercial activity; unresolved radiation violations can rescind or revoke zoning permits, and NRC requirements also apply. nuclear-energy conditions

Battery Energy Storage Systems of at least 1 megawatt are conditional uses and major land developments requiring SALDO processing, extensive site, operations, fire-protection, hazardous-material, transportation, interconnection, complaint-resolution, and decommissioning documentation. BESS conditional-use and application requirements

Battery Energy Storage Systems must meet a five-acre minimum lot size, a 50-foot maximum height, a 1,000-foot setback from buildings on nonparticipating properties, a 500-foot setback from public road rights-of-way, and a 500-foot setback from occupied buildings or dwellings on participating properties. BESS dimensional standards

Battery Energy Storage Systems must provide specified fire suppression, containment, emergency-response, responder-training, inspection, and NFPA 855 compliance measures; the applicant must pay for specialized equipment and training required by responding agencies. BESS emergency-management requirements

Battery Energy Storage System owners must provide decommissioning security equal to 110% of estimated costs, maintain at least $5 million per-occurrence and $5 million aggregate liability insurance, submit annual insurance and financial-security reports, and notify the Township within 48 hours of cessation or discontinuation. BESS financial, insurance, and reporting obligations

Data centers, energy production systems, and energy storage systems are authorized as conditional uses in the Industrial District and the IC Interchange Commercial Overlay District, creating an approval pathway for these facilities in those areas. as Conditional Uses in the I Industrial District

The data-center definition expressly covers cryptocurrency mining, blockchain processing, hyperscalers, artificial intelligence, supercomputers, data-center campuses, and server farms, allowing these activities to qualify as the regulated data-center use. include cryptocurrency mining, blockchain transaction processing, hyperscaler, artificial intelligence, supercomputers, data center campuses, and server farms

A data center may include numerous accessory facilities on the same tract or a unified assemblage of adjacent parcels, including substations, utility lines, generators for temporary backup power, cooling facilities, water facilities, wastewater treatment, pump stations, fire-suppression equipment, and security structures. A Data Center may include Data Center Accessory Uses

Data centers and their accessory uses may be built up to 50 feet high, including rooftop equipment. maximum building height

The otherwise required 1,000-foot setback from a Sensitive Receptor property line may be reduced to between 500 and 999 feet if the applicant demonstrates enhanced environmental performance, such as ambient-level noise, effective visual screening, aesthetic improvements, and no harmful thermal air changes. this distance may be reduced to a range of 500 to 999 feet

Emergency generator testing is expressly permitted, even though the ordinance's maximum noise limits also apply during power outages and when emergency generators are operating. Emergency generator testing as required by industry standards is permitted

On-site or behind-the-meter generation using natural gas, renewable fuels, or other clean sources is permissible for reliability, efficiency, or sustainability, subject to environmental, safety, utility-interconnection, and Tier 4-or-greater generator requirements. On-site or behind the meter generation

The ordinance expressly accommodates commercial-grid service for data centers through an interconnection and capacity-certification process; the applicant must pay for infrastructure upgrades caused by the project. provide documentation from the applicable electric service provider

The Township may use voluntary development agreements for infrastructure improvements, emergency-services support, environmental mitigation, or community benefits, but the ordinance does not require payment in lieu of taxes or a community-benefit contribution as a condition of approval unless otherwise authorized by law. Nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed to require a payment in lieu of taxes or community benefit contribution

Battery energy storage systems are allowed through the ordinance's conditional-use and major-land-development approval process, allowing associated storage facilities to be developed where approved and subject to the listed safety, setback, and financial-security requirements. A Battery Energy Storage System shall be considered a land development