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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Representatives for Indivisible Blair County urged commissioners Thursday to explore options as to how they can play a role in controlling the potential development of data centers.
Blair County has a lot of rural farmland that could be vulnerable for such development, Indivisible Blair County President Carol Taylor of Altoona told commissioners during their weekly meeting where she referenced concerns about water and energy usage, noise, emissions and displacement.
"What could we do proactively," she asked commissioners to consider.
Indivisible Blair County member Bill Kelley of Tyrone proposed that commissioners exercise control by slowing down the process.
"Once a data center is built, you're stuck with it," Kelley said.
Commissioners Chairman Dave Kessling told the group that commissioners are following the issue and consulting with others, but decisions on potential developments will fall to municipal leaders. Under Pennsylvania governing rules, municipalities have options to control land use that include zoning and land development ordinances.
Taylor recommended commissioners review the NorthStar Data Policy Toolkit to explore what could be options for the county. That online resource compiles information about data center developments in the U.S. and describes itself as "primarily geared toward stopping, slowing and restricting rampant data center development."
Kessling also mentioned in response to Taylor's comments that Blair County is a leader in farmland preservation, with more than 9,000 acres preserved for use as farmland. Farmland preservation is a program managed by the Blair County Conservation District, with financial support from the county.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.