Legislation giving local officials greater control over regional-scale development projects was approved recently by the House Local Government Committee.

The committee voted 14-12 with Democrats supporting and Republicans opposed last week in favor of an amended House Bill 1764 sponsored by state Rep. Maureen Madden, D-Monroe.

HB1764 seeks to give municipalities power to address the impact of mega-development projects that can have a regional impact on infrastructure, traffic, the environment, neighborhoods, finances and adjoining municipalities.

HB1764 would revise the Municipal Planning Code.

The committee voted unanimously to add data centers to a list of potential development projects that include warehouses, waste facilities, petroleum storage depots and truck stops.

A municipality can declare a project as being of “regional significance and impact.”

This designation would trigger a process where a municipality could require a developer to provide a detailed impact analysis, use the analysis to set conditions to mitigate the impact, establish accountability measures and give the county and neighboring municipalities an opportunity to have their concerns addressed.

Public hearings would be held.

HB1764 is a response to a wave of big warehouse projects in Pennsylvania during the past decade and newer proposals to build data centers.

Committee Majority Chair Robert Freeman, D-Northampton, spoke for the bill and Committee Minority Chair Brett Miller, R-Lancaster, spoke against it.

HB1764 lets a municipality identify a regional project, address concerns about it and develop a plan to mitigate negative impacts, said Freeman.

Municipalities need additional powers since current state land-use laws are inadequate to address these mega projects, said Freeman.

Freeman said neighboring municipalities often have no say about a project that affects them. Municipal cooperation provisions under a 2000 state anti-sprawl law have had a limited effect, he added.

The county regional planning commissions only play an advisory role, said Freeman.

Miller said a balance is needed between job creation and addressing adverse impacts from big projects.

He said HB1764 would add to costs to these types of projects.

Municipalities have tools to address concerns about projects through zoning and regional planning agencies, said Miller.