In the Industrial District, a data center requires special-exception approval rather than being permitted by right, including Zoning Hearing Board review, public notice, a hearing, and consideration of a Planning Commission advisory report.

A zoning permit is required before constructing, altering, or using a building or land, and work or a change in use cannot begin until the permit is issued. Conditional-use construction or use also requires written Board of Supervisors approval.

Zoning-permit applications must include a scaled site plan showing the lot, existing and proposed structures and uses, setbacks, building dimensions and locations, zoning district, proposed use, and other information required by the Zoning Officer.

An approved zoning permit generally becomes void after 12 months if construction or the approved change in use has not begun.

Industrial or Industrial Overlay District sites must generally have at least one acre, 150 feet of lot width, no more than 40% building coverage, no more than 75% impervious coverage, a 50-foot front setback, and generally 20-foot side and rear setbacks. Side and rear setbacks increase to 40 feet next to residential districts, and certain manufacturing or truck-loading uses require 100-foot setbacks.

Structures are limited to 50 feet in the Industrial and Industrial Overlay Districts and generally to three stories or 40 feet, whichever is more restrictive, in other districts.

A nonresidential data-center site next to an existing dwelling or undeveloped residentially zoned lot generally requires a 30-foot planted buffer yard; the buffer increases to 70 feet for certain manufacturing or truck-loading operations or when the site contains more than 100,000 square feet of new business floor area.

Data-center buildings must use at least two specified facade-design elements, such as height changes, step-backs or recesses, fenestration, or changes in materials, patterns, textures, or colors.

Ground-level and rooftop mechanical and electrical equipment must be screened using buildings, vegetation, walls, panels, parapets, or compatible solid screens.

A minimum 50-foot buffer yard with dense evergreen and deciduous tree screening is required between facility buildings and adjacent residential or residentially zoned property, with at least one evergreen and one deciduous tree for every 20 feet of buffer-yard length.

New principal buildings may not be located on slopes exceeding 25%; buildings must be set back 20 feet from wetlands and 75 feet from the center of a mapped perennial creek, and applicable development must comply with the Floodplain Management Ordinance before a zoning permit is issued.

Lighting must use full-cutoff, fully shielded or diffused fixtures directed downward and away from adjacent roads, motorists, neighboring dwellings, and other properties.

Hazardous-material storage must be at least 100 feet from every property line and street right-of-way. Applicants must document the materials handled or stored, compliance with Pennsylvania DEP standards, and notification of the first-due fire department.

Applicants must provide documentation that the public utility supplying power has approved service to the facility.

An Emergency Response Plan prepared by a qualified professional must be submitted and accepted by the local fire department and emergency services before project approval. It must address fire suppression, containment, ventilation, evacuation, responder training before operations begin, and annual fire-safety inspections; battery storage sites must also comply with NFPA 855 or similar standards and use battery-specific fire suppression systems.

A Water Supply Feasibility Study must demonstrate that sufficient water resources are available under the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance standards.

Applicants must document adequate wastewater disposal for domestic wastewater and for wastewater used for cooling or industrial purposes. Central water and sewage systems must meet state and Township requirements, demonstrate adequate capacity, and provide for long-term professional operation and maintenance.

Facility noise, including associated and emergency equipment, may not exceed pre-development ambient noise levels by more than 10 dB(A), with maximum levels of 55 dB(A) during specified daytime hours and 45 dB(A) during specified nighttime and weekend hours, measured at the property line.

A professional acoustical expert must submit a preliminary sound study with the initial project application, including frequency analysis and recommended noise-reduction measures.

An as-built sound study must be completed within six months after the certificate of occupancy and start of operations. If noise limits are exceeded, additional noise-reduction measures and an updated study are required.

The facility must provide at least one off-street parking space for every 1.1 employees at peak operation. Parking must be outside the street right-of-way, and loading facilities must accommodate maximum demand and vehicle size without routinely obstructing streets or site circulation.

Operations may not pollute groundwater or surface water, create explosion or fire hazards, produce offensive odors or dust beyond the lot, or cause uncontrolled exterior lighting or glare.

The facility owner must remove unused equipment and structures and restore the site after operations end under a decommissioning agreement requiring restoration within 12 months after the facility ceases operation.

Violations may result in a civil judgment of up to $500 plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees, with each continuing day generally treated as a separate violation. The Township may also deny later zoning permits or approvals for property developed in violation until applicable conditions are satisfied.

Data centers and battery energy storage systems are expressly allowed by special exception in the Industrial District, providing a defined zoning approval pathway without requiring a zoning amendment.

The Industrial Overlay District provides an additional pathway for industrial uses authorized by the underlying zoning district and separately lists specified industrial uses, with authorized uses applying Industrial District dimensional standards.

The Industrial District permits by right several use categories that could accommodate a data center if classified accordingly, including light industrial uses, warehousing or storage, distribution or trucking terminals, research and development or testing facilities, and related industrial uses.

Commercial and industrial lots may contain multiple permitted principal uses and buildings if each complies with the ordinance and the uses and buildings are in common ownership or use an approved condominium structure, facilitating phased or multi-building campuses.

Industrial development has defined dimensional standards, including a one-acre minimum lot, 40% maximum building coverage, 75% maximum impervious coverage, a 50-foot front setback, and generally 20-foot side and rear setbacks; Industrial and Industrial Overlay District structures may be up to 50 feet high.

The ordinance establishes a defined infrastructure-capacity process requiring documentation of public-utility power approval, a water-supply feasibility study, and adequate wastewater disposal for domestic, cooling, and industrial wastewater.

Applicants may request a special-exception reduction in required parking by providing supporting employee and visitor data; reductions may also be available for shared parking or a long-term employee or resident shuttle commitment.

Accessory solar energy systems are permitted by right in all zoning districts. Roof-mounted systems used primarily on-site have no energy-output limit, while ground-mounted systems are limited to 20 kW and must meet setback, screening, safety, glare, maintenance, and decommissioning requirements.

Data-center operations must have an emergency response plan accepted by the local fire department and emergency services, responder training before operations begin, annual fire-safety inspections, and NFPA 855 or similar compliance for battery storage systems.

The ordinance provides measurable noise standards for data centers: noise may not exceed pre-development ambient levels by more than 10 dB(A), with specified maximums of 55 dB(A) during daytime periods and 45 dB(A) during nighttime and weekend periods, verified through preliminary and as-built sound studies.

Lawful nonconforming uses, structures, and lots may continue and may be sold and continued by new owners, protecting an existing operation from becoming immediately unlawful after a zoning change.

A nonconforming nonresidential use may expand on the same lot up to an aggregate maximum of 50% of its prior building floor area or land area, whichever is more restrictive; expansion above 5% requires special-exception approval and all expansion must meet current setbacks and other requirements.

A damaged or destroyed nonconforming structure or use may be rebuilt in a nonconforming manner if the zoning-permit application is submitted within 18 months, work begins within 12 months after permit issuance, and reconstruction does not create or increase a nonconformity.