The zoning hearing for the proposed data center at 900 Conshohocken Road in Conshohocken (Plymouth Township) resumed on August 6th before the Plymouth Township Zoning Hearing Board at Colonial Middle School. The application, submitted by 900 Conshohocken Road LLC, an entity associated with developer Brian O’Neill, seeks a special exception to allow a data center on the former steel mill property. The 750-seat auditorium was almost filled to capacity.

The meeting began with additional entities and people seeking party status. The Borough of Conshohocken was granted party status; however, the Municipality of Norristown was not. The reasoning for rejecting Norristown was that the zoning hearing board believed it had a more general concern rather than a specific one. Also receiving party status were five nearby residents and one man from Whitemarsh who cited concerns about air quality due to medical conditions within his family.

The full video of the August 6th hearing date is below.

After the party status process was completed, the applicant’s testimony began. Offered as an expert witness in engineering and planning was Richard Roseberry, a senior principal and civil regional manager for Pennsylvania and the north-central United States at Colliers Engineering & Design. Roseberry’s credentials were challenged by a few of the parties, but he was eventually recognized as an expert by the zoning hearing board.

Roseberry’s testimony focused on how the proposed data center was similar to the uses allowed on the heavy industrial site under the township’s zoning code, such as warehouses and laboratories. Establishing this similarity is part of what qualifies a use for a special exception. His testimony was not completed, and he has not yet been cross-examined by the parties.

The hearing was continued to August 17th, but note that on August 17th, no testimony will be heard, and a date for the next hearing with testimony will be announced.

Some musings…

Proposals vs. Ordinances

We find it interesting that so many are interested in a proposed data center, but so few are interested in data center ordinances being considered and adopted in neighboring and nearby municipalities. There were five people at the recent hearing about the proposed data center ordinance in Whitemarsh Township. Five.

If O’Neill accepted all 44 conditions sought by Plymouth Township’s council, that would be very close to the regulations established by the ordinances being adopted in nearby communities to allow data centers by conditional use. There were many last night wearing “No Data Center” stickers. Is it really “No Data Centers,” or is it more driven by there being an “evil” developer to confront? Because the framework is being put in place for data centers across Pennsylvania, and few are engaged.

Norristown is currently working on an ordinance to allow data centers by conditional use, which would allow them on the border with Plymouth Township. From The Times Herald:

The ordinance, first advertised in May, would aim to regulate data center developments by conditional use in the municipality’s Heavy Industrial District, which according to zoning maps, is a roughly 41.41-acre area situated near SEPTA’s Norristown Transportation Center, the Schuylkill River and Plymouth Township.

Is Plymouth Township opposing this ordinance in Norristown? Will it seek party status (there will eventually be a hearing)? How about when Whitemarsh has a hearing about its proposed ordinance? On two borders with Plymouth Township, data centers are moving towards being permitted by conditional use.

County and State Level Politicians

The people in the auditorium last night would not accept the proposed data center in Conshohocken even if O’Neill accepted all 44 conditions proposed by Plymouth’s council. So let’s stop pretending that regulations on data centers are something people will find acceptable. They want “No Data Centers.”

Stop liking what State Rep. Greg Scott, State Senator Maria Collett, County Commissioner Neil Makhija, and Governor Josh Shapiro post on Facebook about opposing this application. Has Scott or State Senator Collett introduced a bill that would change state law and permit municipalities to ban data centers, which is permitted under state law in New Jersey? They haven’t.

The Montgomery County Planning Commission (part of the county) issued a recommendation (based on state law requirements) for municipalities to adopt ordinances allowing data centers in heavy industrial zoning districts by conditional use (the former steel plant fits that definition). Will Makhija propose withdrawing that recommendation and lead a challenge to the state law that prohibits municipalities from banning data centers?

Will Governor Shapiro just accept that he made a mistake when he said he would help find sites for data centers and help generate local support? Of course not.

None of these politicians’ statements lead to “No Data Centers.” They lead to data centers with some regulations.

Rowdy Crowd

Throughout the hearing, even on procedural matters, there were boos and catcalls from the crowd. The zoning hearing board’s solicitor constantly admonished the crowd and begged them to be quiet, citing the need for the court reporter to properly establish the record. No one listened.

The Talk of Air Quality

Throughout this process (going back to 2025), air quality has been mentioned numerous times by people concerned about a data center. You live under the Reworld (formerly Covanta) stack, which is considered one of the biggest sources of air pollution in the county. It has been there since 1992. I really don’t think people understand this.

Most importantly, if you live in Conshohocken, Plymouth Township, or West Conshohocken, and many other neighboring communities, your trash is part of the trash being burned at Reworld. There have been a series of problems at Reworld in recent years with noise, fires, etc, and your municipalities decided to continue sending their trash there because it was cheaper than sending it to a landfill (which some environmentalists consider a better option). Please note that Reworld was fined, and it did make improvements to the facility.

Following the issues, only Whitemarsh Township voted to stop using the facility and send its trash to a landfill.

We Actually Feel Bad for the Municipalities

This issue should not be determined on a municipality-by-municipality basis. It is big, complex, and frankly very fluid, as the technology is evolving quickly. Governor Shapiro started the data center rush in Pennsylvania without any consideration of how this process would play out at the municipal level.

We also feel bad for the developers. They were encouraged by Governor Shapiro to propose sites; he would help get support, and his policies would lead to quick permitting. Instead, they were led right into a brick wall.

The Public Also Shares Some Responsibility

It is amazing how many people do not understand that Facebook and Instagram are fully integrated with AI and that Meta has huge data centers to power its social media platforms. Meta is proud of these data centers. Read about just one here.

As a society, we are going to have to determine what we are willing to give up if data centers are such a concern. No one seems to be willing to have that conversation.

The effort to fight data centers is being organized to a significant degree using the power of social media (thus AI and data centers).