West Penn Township supervisors tabled discussions on a draft ordinance that would regulate data center development.

On Monday, the ordinance was again before supervisors, this time with comments from the township’s Planning Commission.

“There are a couple questions that we need to go through,” board Chairman Tony Prudenti said.

He asked solicitor Paul Datte if he had chance to review the commission’s recommendations.

Datte said he had just received the information.

With Supervisor Kyle Kester absent from the meeting, Prudenti suggested that discussions be held at the March 17 meeting.

Last month, supervisors reviewed the draft ordinance, which would permit data centers in industrial districts with a special exception.

At the time, Datte said that data centers would have to be in areas large enough to accommodate them. He added that the township does not have much industrial zoned land large enough to house data centers. He said the centers often require a minimum of 30 to 50 acres.

Datte noted that the biggest issues for data centers are power, water and noise.

“The big thing is power,” Datte said last month. “If they don’t have access to the power, then they’re just going to (relocate) to where they do. Site selection for them is a big deal.”

In February, supervisors agreed to send the draft to the planning commission.

Prudenti noted that Herb Woodring, assistant to the board of supervisors, was given the task of working on the ordinance and thanked him for compiling the information.

Supervisors will also wait to advertise changes to its false alarm ordinance. Under the ordinance, folks are fined for making false alarm reports.

“The changes were that we doubled the fees” and changed the time period from a calendar year to a 12-month basis, Datte said.

Fines would be $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense and $300 for a third offense.

Because the township’s police and fire departments haven’t had chance to review the changes, the board tabled the matter.