<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2bcE8j_1Gzcxpcn00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2bcE8j_1Gzcxpcn00" width="238" height="344" ><figcaption>Zoning officer Megan Donovin said the effort to amend the township’s zoning regulations are an attempt to have more local control over how and where they are built.</figcaption></figure>Officials in Radnor Township have introduced a new set of zoning regulations in an attempt to get ahead of the data center building boom. The township’s Board of Commissioners became the latest local government in the collar county region to weigh in on the increasingly controversial subject during its Oct. 26 meeting with a cradleto grave draft ordinance that would regulate data centers from the time of initial proposal, through to construction and operation, and finally during their decommissioning phase.The commissioners unanimously agreed to allow the draft ordinance to proceed to a public feedback stage for revisions. The draft would then go back to the township planning commission for revisions and then can be introduced for consideration by the commissioners, followed by a review by the county’s Planning Commission before being eligible for potential passage.Zoning Officer Megan Donovin, who presented the proposed ordinance during the Council meeting, asserted that the best way to handle data center developers is to “establish clear standards” before building applications are submitted. She described it as a “preemptive” effort to amend the zoning codes because it would allow the township to establish a framework for how data centers are built in Radnor if one is proposed.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3hS85c_1Gzcxpcn00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3hS85c_1Gzcxpcn00" width="278" height="270" ></figure>Donovin said there are no current formal proposals or informal discussions about potential applications to build a data center in Radnor. She noted that the rationale for the zoning changes were to avoid a situation where regulations were so restrictive that the township could be taken to court on the grounds that they amount to a prohibition, which would violate state law. Instead, they seek to limit the size of any approved data center construction.“If a developer challenged our ordinance on the basis that it was unlawfully exclusionary, they could be entitled to significant relief – and that’s where the concern comes in. Instead of regulating a smallerscale data center under the standards we have established, we can find ourselves defending against a much larger purpose-built facility,” Donovin warned. “That’s why we are taking this proactive approach. By allowing a smaller scale version of the use, we can establish where it is appropriate, limit its size, and impose specific operational standards. The goal is to maintain as much local control as possible.”One of the most significant restraints in the draft ordinance aims to cap a potential data center’s size by imposing a limit on the technology area to five percent of the building’s gross floor area. The technology area, according to the draft, includes servers, data processing equipment, and supporting infrastructure for electricity and cooling. “The intent is to keep this at a smaller, controlled scale and avoid the type of purpose-built hyperscale facility that people usually picture when they hear the term data center,” Donovin said.The proposed ordinance goes beyond regulations and specifications for the construction of data centers, as it also provides detailed requirements to address electricity and water use. For example, data center developers will need to perform a power feasibility study that projects their demand and how it will affect the system’s capacity. The same type of study will be required for water and wastewater use. Any enhancements to the systems to increase capacity will “generally” be the responsibility of the data center developer, according to Donovin’s presentation.It also takes measures to limit the negative effects of an operational data center on neighboring properties, such as noise levels and environmental concerns.The final key element of the ordinance would be limiting data center construction, upon approval of the Board of Commissioners, to one of two planned laboratory-office zoning districts in the township. The two are in close proximity in the northern portion of the township, near or along the Amtrak rail lines, with one directly adjacent to Radnor High School. The most compelling element is that Radnor isn’t simply proposing to regulate data center construction. The draft zoning requirements will subject data center operators to ongoing regulatory oversight with a mechanism for members of the public to submit complaints. Among the post-construction requirements is annual third-party certification of engineering compliance for the facility. Donovin highlighted that this is a draft proposal that will be revised after community feedback before final consideration and potential adoption.An ensuing discussion among the township’s commissioners suggested that the proposed zoning regulations will be amended before any final proposal is submitted. Commissioner Catherine Agnew immediately questioned a provision that would require any new data center building to be at least 200 feet from land zoned for residential institutional, agricultural or public land use.“I don’t think that’s enough,” Agnew said, referring to the proposed buffer zone.Setting setback requirements that are too large can effectively eliminate the possibility of building a data center anywhere in a developed area like Radnor, township solicitor John Rice cautioned.“It’s their noise that eliminated the possibility,” Agnew responded. “They are so loud that 200 feet is just not going to do it. That’s their function…. that we are trying to guard against for our residents.” </div></body>

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Officials in Radnor Township have introduced a new set of zoning regulations in an attempt to get ahead of the data center building boom. The township’s Board of Commissioners became the latest local government in the collar county region to weigh in on the increasingly controversial subject during its Oct. 26 meeting with a cradleto grave draft ordinance that would regulate data centers from the time of initial proposal, through to construction and operation, and finally during their decommissioning phase.

Radnor proposes new data center restrictions

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Officials in Radnor Township have introduced a new set of zoning regulations in an attempt to get ahead of the data center building boom. The township’s Bo

Radnor proposes new data center restrictions

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