My wife and I attended the Damascus Township Planning Commission meeting held on April 9, 2026. On the agenda was “Data Centers: Ordinance revision”. We learned that the Township supervisors have charged the Planning Commission with reviewing the Township zoning ordinance as it applies to data centers. On March 16, the Board of Supervisors declared a 6 month moratorium on data center development and the Planning Commission is just beginning its review of the zoning ordinance.

At the meeting it was noted that, if a data center were to be proposed in the Township under the current zoning ordinance, the Township would have virtually no say over the project. The Township needs to get out ahead of such potential development in order to have some control over the outcome.

According to Pennsylvania state law, all municipalities must provide a zone for any kind of potential development; no use may be excluded, not even “undesirable industries.” Currently there is no zone for data centers in Damascus Township. Therefore, they could be placed anywhere, with little or no control by the Township. This is the impetus behind the zoning review that is just getting underway.

At the meeting, it was apparent that the Commission is aware of some of the major issues with data centers, such as their massive demands for electricity and water. It was also evident that they did not have experience, or significant expertise, with this type of development. The Commission welcomes helpful information/comments from the public, but expressed some concern about being inundated with documents and links to articles. For this reason, DCS recommends that you email your comments to us. We will consolidate all comments received and forward them to the Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission will hold regular meetings on the 2nd Thursday of every month, at 7 pm, at the Damascus Township Municipal Building (60 Conklin Hill Road, Damascus, PA). Work meetings will be held the 1st Wednesday of every month, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm, at the same location.

There is significant local opposition to data center development nationwide. In a Missouri town, all council members that voted to approve a data center, against the wishes of residents, were voted out of office within days.