Data centers and data-center accessory uses are allowed only in the Industrial (IND) District by special exception, not by right, requiring approval from the Zoning Hearing Board.

Special-exception applicants must demonstrate consistency with the comprehensive plan and district purpose, avoid substantial changes to neighborhood character, protect public health and safety, and comply with applicable regulations; the Zoning Hearing Board may impose additional conditions and safeguards.

Before the special-exception hearing, applicants must submit preliminary noise and vibration studies and an approved emergency-response plan.

Before the special-exception hearing, applicants must submit an environmental and community impact analysis addressing operations, employees, vehicle trips, stored materials, site resources, disposal, emergency services, water, sewage, solid waste, schools, municipal finances, and environmental impacts.

A qualified professional must prepare an environmental impact assessment addressing air pollution, truck emissions, nuisance impacts, alternatives, mitigation, and impacts on floodplains, streams, wetlands, riparian buffers, mature vegetation, and aquifer areas.

Data centers must comply with industrial performance standards limiting impacts including noise, vibration, smoke, odors, air pollution, glare, erosion, water pollution, dust, exhaust, heat, and humidity; these impacts may not be perceptible at or beyond the property line.

Applicants must submit a professional Noise Mitigation Plan and acoustic study, conduct a pre-construction baseline noise study, and complete a post-construction noise study at least one month but no more than twelve months after the first certificate of occupancy.

A qualified professional must prepare a vibration study demonstrating that vibration from the data center, accessory uses, and related equipment will not be perceptible beyond the property line.

Backup generators must meet EPA Tier 4 emissions standards or an equivalent standard and applicable state and federal requirements; annual testing and performance or emissions reporting are required.

Applicants must submit a professional-engineer-certified Energy Management Plan describing electricity demand, energy sources, storage capacity, and good-faith efforts to use renewable or clean energy.

A proposed grid connection requires documentation from the electric provider confirming available capacity and service, including known impacts on electric rates or availability for other users.

Energy-generation systems intended to supply a data center during normal operations are treated as separate uses and require separate zoning and applicable federal and state approvals.

Applicants must demonstrate adequate water supply and submit a professional-engineer-certified Water Utilization Report covering intake, sources, discharges, cooling technology, efficiency, and stormwater compliance.

Water withdrawals may not exceed the source's safe yield or adversely affect neighboring users, groundwater, wetlands, streams, or public water supplies.

Applicants must provide water-service documentation confirming available capacity and service, including known impacts on water rates or availability for other users.

Connection to public water and public sewer is mandatory, and domestic, cooling, and industrial wastewater disposal must be approved by the Summit Township Sewer Authority and/or the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Data centers must comply with township stormwater requirements and evaluate impacts of impervious surfaces and changed runoff on groundwater recharge.

An Electronic Waste Plan is required for removal, recycling, or disposal of servers, hazardous materials, batteries, electronic waste, and related products during upgrades or decommissioning.

New data centers and qualifying expansions must use closed-loop cooling for server racks and IT equipment; open evaporative cooling towers are prohibited unless the Township grants a conditional exemption after clear and convincing evidence that closed-loop technology is infeasible.

A cooling exemption request must include licensed-professional-engineer documentation of infeasibility and proposed alternatives meeting the ordinance's water-use, noise, and environmental standards.

Data centers may not be designed to rely on private potable wells for primary cooling make-up water.

A professional-engineer-certified Thermal Impact Mitigation Plan is required to address waste-heat reuse or dissipation and measures to reduce heat-island effects.

Hazardous antifreeze or heat-transfer fluids require spill prevention, full-system secondary containment, a hazardous-materials response plan, routine leak testing, and annual containment certification.

Data centers are prohibited in both 100-year and 500-year floodplains shown on the most recent FEMA flood maps.

A single-story data-center principal building must be at least 30 feet high, while the maximum height, including rooftop equipment, is 60 feet; accessory structures may not exceed the principal building's height.

Data-center lot coverage may not exceed 40 percent.

Data centers must provide one parking space per two guests plus one space per employee on the largest shift, and at least one off-street loading space; loading spaces may be located on only one facade of the principal building.

For residential or community property or zoning, data centers and accessory uses require a 200-foot front setback and 500-foot side and rear setbacks.

For nonresidential property or zoning, data centers and accessory uses require a 100-foot front setback and 500-foot side and rear setbacks.

Ground-mounted cooling, ventilation, heat, or power equipment requires 200-foot front and 500-foot side and rear setbacks from residential or community property or zoning.

Ground-mounted cooling, ventilation, heat, or power equipment requires 200-foot front, 300-foot side, and 300-foot rear setbacks from nonresidential property or zoning.

Native-species buffers are required along property lines, including a 50-foot public-street buffer, a 100-foot buffer beside residential or community property, and a 50-foot buffer beside nonresidential uses.

Cooling, ventilation, generator, electrical-substation, and other operating equipment must be screened to reduce noise and visual impacts; ground equipment must be enclosed when technically feasible, and rooftop equipment must be screened on all four sides.

Fencing must use durable security-grade materials, may not use barbed or razor wire, and may not exceed 10 feet in height.

A detailed emergency-response plan is required, covering flood, fire, explosion, catastrophic weather, fire suppression, containment, ventilation, evacuation, emergency access, hydrants, responder training, and annual fire-safety inspections.

The emergency-response plan must be reviewed and accepted during the special-exception process by the Perry Highway Hose Company and the Erie County Department of Public Safety, Emergency Management Division.

Battery storage and other energy-storage systems must comply with NFPA 855 or similar standards and include fire-suppression systems designed for battery storage.

A visible 24-hour emergency-contact sign with operator and local power-company information must be posted at the access entrance.

A decommissioning plan is required at application and must address equipment inventories, removal, recycling or disposal, hazardous materials, timelines, and site restoration; decommissioning must begin within one year after discontinuation or abandonment and finish within eighteen months unless the Township grants a written extension.

Before construction approval, the owner must provide financial security equal to 110 percent of estimated decommissioning costs, update the estimate every five years, and submit increased security within 30 days after Township approval of an increased estimate.

The owner must pay the Township's administrative, legal, and engineering costs for reviewing decommissioning-security estimates.

Construction, installation, occupancy, use, or a change of use requires the applicable zoning permit and Summit Township Occupancy/Use Permit; occupancy or use is prohibited until the Township issues the Occupancy/Use Permit.

Data centers and accessory uses are expressly allowed in the Industrial (IND) District through the special-exception process, providing a defined zoning approval pathway. Data Centers and Data Center Accessory Uses

A data center may include accessory infrastructure on the same tract or an adjacent unified development, including backup generators, electrical substations, utility lines, cooling systems, water and wastewater facilities, water-holding facilities, pump stations, and security structures. including but not limited to

A data-center electrical substation may serve users on the same or adjacent site, or on a site immediately across a road right-of-way, allowing related electrical infrastructure to be coordinated across nearby parcels. Data Center Electrical Substation

Energy-generation systems intended to supply a data center during normal operations are treated as a separate use rather than as part of the data-center use, allowing them to be pursued under separate applicable permits. shall be considered a separate use

Data-center buildings may be up to 60 feet high, including roof-mounted cooling and ventilation equipment, and may cover up to 40 percent of the lot. maximum building height shall be sixty (60) feet and maximum lot coverage shall be no greater than forty percent (40%)

Parking is set at one space per two guests plus one space per employee on the largest shift, with no maximum parking ratio specified. 1 parking space per 2 guests

New data centers and qualifying expansions must use closed-loop cooling, but the Township may grant an exemption if the applicant proves closed-loop technology is infeasible and proposes alternative technology meeting the ordinance's standards. an exemption may be granted

Special-exception proceedings have deadlines: a hearing generally must occur within 60 days of the request, and the Zoning Hearing Board must issue a written decision within 45 days after the last hearing; failure to meet required deadlines can result in approval being deemed granted. shall be deemed to have been rendered in favor of the applicant

A use approved through the special-exception process is deemed a conforming use, preventing it from being treated as nonconforming solely because it required special-exception approval. Any use for which a special exception is granted shall be deemed a conforming use

A lawful data-center use that later becomes prohibited because of an ordinance amendment may generally continue as a nonconforming use, subject to limits on expansion and abandonment; the protection ends if the use ceases for more than 12 months. such use may be continued so long as it remains otherwise lawful

After required special-exception approval, construction or development applications that conform to the zoning ordinance must be approved, while nonconforming applications must be denied. All applications for construction/development that conform to zoning ordinances shall be approved

An approved zoning permit generally remains valid for two years and may receive a one-year renewal, giving the project additional time to begin construction. valid for a period of 2 years, with a one-year renewal