Data centers and battery energy storage systems (BESS) are allowed only as conditional uses in the Commercial Industrial (CI) Zone, requiring conditional-use approval.

New principal building facades must include at least two design elements, such as changes in height, step-backs or recesses, fenestration, changes in materials or colors, or accent materials; multiple principal facades must be consistent in design and treatment.

Ground-level and rooftop mechanical and electrical equipment must be screened from adjacent roads and properties using a building, existing vegetation, or a visually solid fence, wall, panel, parapet, or similar screen made of compatible materials.

A buffer yard is required next to residential properties, residentially zoned or planned properties, and properties with an approved residential development. The buffer must add at least 50 feet beyond the required setback and contain a dense screen of evergreen and deciduous trees approved by the Zoning Officer.

As an alternative to the required buffer yard, side or rear yards abutting property not developed with commercial or industrial uses must use required plantings on an earthen berm at least six feet high with a slope no steeper than 2:1.

Road frontage must be landscaped to visually screen the facility, with one evergreen tree and one deciduous tree for every 20 feet of adjacent road frontage, planted in a staggered arrangement using native mixed species. Conifers must be at least six feet tall and deciduous trees at least two-inch caliper when planted.

Electrical and other utility substations serving a data center or BESS are treated as part of the use and must be screened under the applicable buffer-yard requirements when facing residentially zoned or planned property.

Exterior lighting must use cutoff and fully shielded fixtures directed downward and inward, and a photometric plan must show that lighting at the property line does not exceed 0.1 footcandles.

Tanks storing flammable or otherwise hazardous materials may not be located within 50 feet of a property line or within 100 feet of a structure on an adjacent property.

Hazardous-material storage must comply with applicable Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection standards and include spill containment and environmental-protection measures preventing groundwater or soil contamination.

Applicants must provide evidence that the Township and the first-due fire department have been informed about potential hazardous materials and that related concerns have been addressed in the plan.

Applicants must provide evidence that the public utility serving the facility has approved the application for electric service.

Loading docks and truck maneuvering areas must be set back at least 200 feet from residential districts or residential-use property lines.

Owners must submit an Emergency Response Plan prepared by a qualified professional and reviewed and accepted by the local fire department and emergency management services as part of the land-development process.

The Emergency Response Plan must address fire suppression, containment, ventilation, evacuation, emergency access roads, hydrant locations, first-responder training, and annual fire-safety inspections.

BESS facilities must comply with NFPA 855 or similar standards, use battery-specific fire-suppression systems, and provide documentation of coordination with local fire-code officials and fire services.

Data center applications require approval from the Emergency Management Coordinator regarding potential conflicts with adjacent or nearby helicopter flight paths.

The land-development plan must include a notice that the Township does not assume liability for the adequacy of the Emergency Response Plan and may require additional documentation or certifications for compliance with national standards.

Applicants must submit a traffic-impact study addressing daily operational traffic and emergency-response access and demonstrating that the facility will not adversely affect local road capacity.

At the end of the facility's active use or project life, the owner must remove unused or non-reusable equipment, structures, containment ponds, and similar items and restore the site or modify it for beneficial reuse.

A decommissioning agreement with the Township is required, and the decommissioning requirements must be completed within 12 months after the facility ceases operating as a data center.

If the use involves water resources, the applicant must prepare a water-supply feasibility study demonstrating that sufficient water is available.

When a private well is proposed, a Pennsylvania-licensed professional geologist must prepare a water-resources impact study evaluating supply adequacy and effects on nearby wells, aquifers, streams, wetlands, and other water resources; the Township Engineer must approve the study work plan before testing begins.

Private-well proposals must satisfy the Adams County Wellhead Protection Plan guidelines and peak-demand calculations, including domestic and cooling demand; systems that lack adequate supply, fail applicable drinking-water standards, or adversely affect nearby wells, ponds, or streams may not be approved.

A water-resources impact study must include specified information such as project water demand and fire-flow calculations, geologic and hydrogeologic data, maps of geology and watersheds, nearby wells and septic systems, contamination sources, groundwater demands, groundwater flow, recharge and drought budgets, and impacts on existing users.

For a data center proposing to withdraw 25,000 gallons per day or less, one new test well and at least one monitored observation well are required; proposals exceeding 25,000 but less than 100,000 gallons per day require two new test wells.

The Township must approve test-well locations before construction, and final plan approval must wait for all required regulatory permits when proposed wells fall under Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection jurisdiction.

Nonresidential or testing wells require a Township permit and must comply with the Township well ordinance, including construction, sampling, geologic logging, pumping and recovery testing, groundwater-impact analysis, and laboratory water-quality testing.

The Township Engineer may require a groundwater model, such as MODFLOW, in addition to the required fieldwork to evaluate the project's impact on groundwater availability.

Data center and BESS operations, testing, maintenance, and standby emergency equipment must not increase pre-development ambient noise by more than 10 dB(A), and must not exceed 55 dB(A) during daytime or 45 dB(A) during nighttime, measured at the property line.

If noise limits cannot be met without mitigation, or if the site is adjacent to an existing residential use, sound-reduction materials or systems must be installed and approved by the Township's professional acoustical expert.

A preliminary sound study is required before preliminary development approval and must include recommended mitigation, frequency analysis, and vibration-impact evaluation.

An interim sound study is required during the building-permit process, and its recommended sound-reduction measures must be incorporated into the construction plans.

An as-built sound study is required six months after the certificate of occupancy and before final escrow release for a land-development phase; additional studies may be required later, and violations must be promptly remedied.

A qualified professional must prepare a vibration study demonstrating that vibration from fans, pumps, chillers, generators, and other material equipment does not extend beyond the property line.

Applicants must demonstrate that adequate wastewater disposal has been provided and approved by the Sewage Enforcement Officer and/or Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, including domestic, cooling, and industrial wastewater.

Data centers and battery energy storage systems are expressly allowed as conditional uses in the Commercial Industrial Zone, creating a zoning approval pathway for these facilities rather than prohibiting them outright. conditional use only in the Commercial Industrial (CI) Zone

Electrical substations and other utility substations necessary to serve a data center or BESS are treated as part of the data-center/BESS use, allowing them to be addressed within the same land-development framework, subject to required screening. considered part of the Data Center / BESS Use

The ordinance provides a process for approving private wells for nonresidential data-center use when a water-resources study shows that the project needs the supply, the yield is adequate, and neighboring groundwater supplies will not be harmed. the Board of Supervisors will approve the use of on-lot nonresidential use wells

The maximum daytime and nighttime sound limits do not apply during a power outage, although the required sound study must still evaluate anticipated levels when all data-center equipment is operating. Maximum decibel level specified herein is exempt during a time of power outage