Residents packed the Lower Towamensing supervisors meeting room Wednesday night to request the date be changed for a curative amendment hearing filed for a data center.

Close to 100 residents attended to plead with the board of supervisors to move the hearing to after Christmas so more people may participate.

Linda Christman, president of Save Carbon County, asked supervisors to reschedule the hearing, which is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Aquashicola Volunteer Fire Company.

Christman noted that when the meeting was originally scheduled, the group had volunteers who went door to door, and also held a meeting at the Palmerton Area Library that more than 100 people attended.

Initially, she said the curative amendment hearing had been scheduled for Oct. 27, but then DTA Alliance, the proposed data center developers, requested it to be continued to a later date.

The proposed data center developers, DTA Alliance LLC and Murphy’s Meadow LLC, are the owners of the Alliance Sand Quarry.

Murphy’s Meadow is owned by DT Allen Contracting in New Jersey, and has 368 acres under contract, including the Blue Shamrock Golf Course.

Christman said that the Dec. 17 date for the curative amendment hearing is “seven days before Santa Claus gets here. That is one of the (busiest) weeks (and) people can’t make it.”

She then asked the board to push back the hearing to sometime after Christmas, a request that prompted people to raise their hands in support of Christman’s request.

However, board Chairman Jay Mullikin said he wasn’t sure that the board could do that.

“It’s not easy,” Mullikin said. “We just didn’t arbitrarily (make) that date.”

That elicited crowd reactions that ranged from, “this is not fair,” to “schedule a date in January,” to “there’s more of us” (than DTA).

Township solicitor Jim Nanovic said the board is locked into time frames for a curative amendment hearing.

“We can make the inquiry; if DTA is willing to waive the time frame, we can (do it),” Nanovic said.

Supervisor Mike Takerer said that they mutually agreed to move the date of the curative amendment hearing to Dec. 17, but added the township can make the inquiry.

Nanovic assured the audience that “We’re going to make the inquiry,” and added that once the township hears back, it would update the township’s website with the new date and advertise it in the Times News.

One resident asked if the board would consider a private venue to host the curative amendment hearing and suggested Blue Shamrock Golf Club.

Nanovic said the township was told it was under agreement of sale. Dan Connor, operations manager for DTA Alliance, previously said the property transfer is expected to take place before the end of the year.

Connor, who was at Tuesday’s meeting, confirmed that “It’s under contract. It’s not closed yet.”

One resident thanked the large crowd for showing up at Tuesday’s meeting to make their feelings heard.

Resident Rich Banko praised the board of supervisors, stating that they do “one heck of a job” for the community.

“I don’t know (anybody) that wants this (data center),” Banko said. “There’s places to put it; (just) not where they want it.”

Banko then asked why the township couldn’t put the matter on a referendum and vote on it.

Nanovic said that’s because there are certain rights property owners have with their own properties.

One resident said the general consensus is that the residents don’t want the data center at the proposed location.

The resident said if the board of supervisors is for the residents, if it could advise them of what to do, and asked what their options are.

Nanovic said residents can attend the curative amendment hearing to express their concerns, and that the board of supervisors will weigh those concerns.

Resident Joe Forte cautioned the audience that it wasn’t the board of supervisors with whom they are at odds with.

“It’s not us against this board,” Forte said. “It’s us against DTA Alliance.”

The proposal in Lower Towamensing encompasses the Blue Shamrock Golf Club and land at the sand quarry, and is proposed to be adjacent to Fireline Road, housing in Bowmanstown, and Princeton and Edgemont Avenue in West Palmerton. There are 14 buildings planned over 700 acres with a total footprint of 4.5 million square feet.

The buildings range in size from 125,000 square feet to 650,000 square feet.

DTA filed the challenge to the zoning ordinance Sept. 1, challenging the township’s zoning ordinance, alleging it is defective because it fails to provide for data center use anywhere in the municipality.

The amendment proposes allowing data centers as a permitted use within an overlay district encompassing the Resort & Recreation and Rural Conservation zoning districts.

The data complex footprint winds around four private residences.

The board will hear from the people who they grant standing to, and will also hear from members of the general public.

Residents have formed a Facebook group called Bombers Against the Data Center.

Lower Towamensing has appointed legal counsel for the case. Graham Simmons III, of Norris McLaughlin PA, was hired at the rate of $275 per hour for associates and $325 per hour for partners.

Bowmanstown

DTA Alliance LLC and Murphy’s Meadow LLC have also proposed a 375,000-square-foot data center on 55 acres near the intersection of Ore and Ridge streets in Bowmanstown.

The developers filed a curative amendment Oct. 6, arguing the borough’s zoning ordinance is defective because it does not allow data centers anywhere in the municipality. They are seeking approval to permit data centers as a conditional use within a proposed overlay district on the site, which extends toward Route 248.

While the Bowmanstown Borough zoning ordinance identifies six zoning districts within its boundaries, it does not currently provide for a data center use in any of its zoning districts.

DTA challenges that this provision does not cure the zoning ordinance’s failure to provide for a legitimate use — a data center.

DTA promises a five-year refresh cycle for data center equipment, meaning about 20% of the equipment in each building will be replaced annually, a standard industry practice.