A public hearing on data centers kicked off the June meeting of the East Penn Township board of supervisors.

Resident Kathy Henderson presented each supervisor with a copy of Kidder Township’s ordinance on data centers and asked the supervisors to “compare it to what East Penn is proposing.”

She highlighted sections regarding emergency management and environmental concerns, and said that there is “no mention, in the East Penn ordinance, of a closed loop system.”

She also pointed out that the East Penn ordinance “doesn’t have anything about power supply.”

Resident Jerold Erie, who grew up in Center City Allentown, voiced his opposition to data centers, stating, “we gotta work on something to keep this out.”

Supervisor Keith Hauser addressed the concerns by explaining that East Penn, like all other municipalities, must adopt rules and ordinances governing data centers, even if they don’t want them.

Hauser was referring to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. Under this state law, municipalities cannot legally ban a legitimate land use, which is a practice known as exclusionary zoning.

If a township fails to provide a zoning district for a specific use, a developer can file a legal challenge and potentially build the facility without having to adhere to local municipal preferences.

Hauser said that the township needs to at least pass an initial ordinance regarding data centers and then make amendments because “right now we don’t have an ordinance. Currently, we have nothing.”

Having no ordinance on the books, he warned, would “allow the state to come in” and permit a data center to be built, adding, “we don’t want that either.”

Henderson encouraged the supervisors to pass the proposed ordinance, but said she doesn’t “want anyone to drop the ball” when it comes to making the appropriate amendments.

Hauser agreed with her concern, stating that “we need to make the ordinance first and then make the amendments” because “we are trying to protect us.”

The ordinance (2026-01) was voted on later in the meeting and passed unanimously, with the understanding that amendments will be made to it and other zoning ordinances as appropriate.

The supervisors also unanimously voted to provide the East Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department with $27,000 to purchase software for new radios tied to the new Emergency Management System.

While the fire department had applied for a $40,000 Local Share Account grant, it only received $20,000, falling short of the amount needed for the upgrades.

Although the $27,000 township contribution will not cover the full cost to upgrade every radio, “it is a huge help” said Fire Chief Brenden McArdle, who expressed gratitude to the supervisors for their support.