The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on June 24 passed legislation that would allow municipalities to temporarily pause consideration of data center development applications while they update local land-use rules.
House Bill 2496 would let local governments impose a pause of up to 180 days on data center applications, according to a press release. The bill passed the House by a 201-1 vote and now heads to the state Senate for consideration.
“We cannot allow the rapid expansion of data centers to outpace the safety and logic of our local zoning,” said state Rep. Chris Pielli. “We are taking on headfirst the harmful impacts of rapid, unregulated industrial development on residential areas by taking a needed pause to enable our local governments to protect the health, safety and welfare of all Pennsylvanians.”
The measure would amend the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code to give counties, cities, boroughs, incorporated towns, and townships time to adopt, amend, or repeal land-use ordinances related to data center development. Applications submitted during the pause would be subject to the ordinances adopted or changed during that window.
Under the bill text, a municipal governing body could adopt the pause by resolution at a public meeting. The pause could last no more than 180 days and would be retroactive to the time the municipality gave public notice of the meeting.
The bill also says that applications submitted during the pause would be deemed received the day after the pause ends.
“Large-scale data centers cannot be allowed to bypass community scrutiny,” said state Rep. Kyle Mullins. “With development surging across Pennsylvania, this bill ensures critical local oversight and forces transparency before any projects are approved. It ensures that municipalities can set strict expectations and that decisions of this magnitude are made openly and in the public interest.”
The bill would preserve municipal authority to regulate data centers through zoning, subdivision, land development, stormwater, environmental, public safety, water consumption, utility infrastructure impact, buffering, landscaping, lighting, noise, screening, setbacks, building height, and other land-use rules.
It also states that the legislation is not intended to preempt local land-use authority or require a municipality to approve a data center application that does not comply with local ordinances.
“Municipal officials across Pennsylvania are being asked to make decisions about massive data center developments without having the tools, information or local regulations in place to properly evaluate them,” said state Rep. Kyle Donahue. “This legislation gives communities the opportunity to take a brief pause, gather the facts, engage residents and develop thoughtful ordinances that protect public safety and quality of life before these projects move forward. Good planning takes time, and local governments deserve the ability to make informed decisions.”
