Shapiro debate comment on data centers contested

Statement about local control over data centers stirs confusion at meeting

At a public hearing Thursday in Taylor Township on a proposal to amend the township's subdivision and land development ordinance (SALDO) to mitigate possible harms from the potential of a data center, several residents cited a statement from Gov. Josh Shapiro in his debate with gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity the night before: that "if a local community does not want (a) data center to be built in their community, it will not be built."

Why then don't the township supervisors simply pass an ordinance prohibiting any data center development, given the apparent unanimity of the 200 hearing attendees that a data center is unwanted, several attendees asked.

Shapiro's statement notwithstanding, municipalities can't ban any legal development outright, such as by using zoning or land development rules, because that would be an illegal "taking" of private property rights, according to township solicitor Patrick Fanelli, who had trouble that evening speaking over agitated members of the gathering in explaining why the supervisors couldn't do what the attendees were demanding.

The governor's statement has "put all local municipalities in a really bad spot, creating expectations among the public that legally can't be met by local officials," even if those officials themselves would like to meet those expectations, Fanelli said.

"It might sound good in a debate, but it's not accurate," Fanelli said, referring to Shapiro's assertion.

The governor made the statement in the context of his explanation of a recent executive order that lays out "the strictest guardrails in the nation when it comes to AI data center development."

That executive order calls for the state Department of Environmental Protection to evaluate permit applications from proposed data center developers only if they've made legally binding commitments to meet requirements for self-funding energy development; for public outreach and transparency; for workforce concessions; and for adherence to environmental requirements, according to online sources.

That DEP evaluation comes only after developers have obtained local approvals, according to a governor's office news release on the executive order.

Those local approvals may involve developers complying with land development requirements for setbacks, lot size, stormwater retention and potentially much more, but if such requirements are met, approval is mandatory, according to Fanelli.

"It's not discretionary," Fanelli said.

Municipalities can't game the system by making regulations impossible to meet, such as by requiring a 3,000-foot setback, he said.

Thus, it's not necessarily true that the requirement for local approval means that if a community doesn't want a data center, a data center won't be built, he said.

"Local approval, and local wanting (of a data center) are two different things," Fanelli said.

Municipalities may be "obligated to approve, even if they don't want it," he said.

Shapiro spokeswoman Rosie Lapowsky pushed back on the assertion in this story in an emailed statement.

"The Governor did not misspeak. The Governor's comments referred to the strict requirements in his GRID Executive Order that tie state permitting approvals to local support for data center projects. Pennsylvanians' concerns about data center development are real, and Governor Shapiro and his Administration have heard them. That's why he put in place the strictest requirements on data center development in the nation -- legally binding guardrails to protect communities, keep utility costs from being shifted onto Pennsylvanians, protect our air and water and create good-paying jobs. Developers must meet these requirements, earn community support and secure local approval before the Commonwealth will consider their permits. If they can't do that, they should look somewhere else."

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.