Delco data center proposed for Trainer, Lower Chi
A commercial real estate developer is looking at a 24-acre site at the Congoleum plant in Trainer and Lower Chichester for a possible data center, the first time a proposed project has come up in Delaware County since data centers became controversial due to environmental and electric grid concerns.
“While no formal plan or application has been submitted at this time, we have filed a zoning request and are exploring the development of this site. Should a plan move forward, Link Logistics is committed to engaging with residents, local officials and community stakeholders in an open and transparent manner,” said Paul Frankle, vice president of corporate affairs.
“Our commitment with all projects is that we will develop this property in partnership with the community,” the brief statement concluded.
Link Logistics is a very large-scale developer of “last-mile” real estate, with about 3,000 warehouses and distribution centers across 40 North American markets. Last-mile real estate development refers to those final steps needed to close a deal on a construction project.
According to a report in the Delaware County Daily Times, Trainer officials will only say that no plan has been submitted while Lower Chichester officials acknowledge that the developer has suggested a data center. The plot is about 90% in Trainer and 10% in Lower Chi.
Link Logistics has approached the Lower Chichester Commission with a proposal for a warehouse and provided funding to install a sewer line to the proposed facility for use as a closed loop cooling system to limit burdens on the public water supply, which would be needed by a data center, the Daily Times said.
A cleared site at the Congoleum property is bordered by Ridge Road and rowhouses on one side and the CNX railroad tracks and then rowhouses on the other, with high tension electrical wires running through it.
The public will need a great deal more information, particularly about the size of the project, and noise, air pollution and energy and water use plans, before it can react for or against the proposed development.
Meanwhile, part of that information will have to include how the developers intended to comply with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development – GRID – standards, which he made mandatory in an executive order last week. See executive order HERE.
THE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION LOOKS AT ORDINANCES
In addition, several Delaware County municipalities have been submitting proposed data center zoning ordinances to the county planning commission for review and recommendations,
Municipalities must provide zoning for all legitimate uses where possible, and they cannot deliberately zone them out. It is likely those ordinances will also have be adjusted to comply with GRID standards.
The planning commission cannot mandate zoning ordinance requirements, it can only make recommendations. At its public meeting Aug. 19, it okayed proposed data center ordinances for Tinicum, Marple and Newtown Townships, with recommendations that the municipalities provide for minimum setbacks of as much as 1,000 feet from residential property and set maximum noise levels.
Newtown resident John Butler questioned whether its proposed ordinance provided for a maximum noise level and whether there were air pollution standards if the data centers generated their own power.
Data centers typically operate gas or diesel generators during power outages and Butler said those generate air pollution. Townships should mandate maximum time periods pr year that data centers can operate their emergency power systems, he said.
All three of the proposed ordinances require the developers conduct environmental studies but do not specify maximum noise or pollution standards, staffers told the commission.
Commissioner Charles Ferguson and Chair John Gillespie agreed that there should be some noise limits so people didn’t have to live with a constant hum while going about their daily lives.
“We shouldn’t approve these ordinances without addressing community concerns,” Ferguson said. “One of the reasons we’re here is to protect the community from unjust actions.”
Commissioner M.J. Frumin pointed out that all of the municipalities have noise ordinances and that the noise level of data centers might be below the levels established by those ordinances. Moreover, he said all of the zoning ordinances provide for conditional uses, meaning the municipalities can impose additional conditions on developers.
Jodine Mayberry for the Clearinghouse
PHOTO/Credit Delaware County Clearinghouse
