EAST WHITELAND TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Residents in a Chester County community voiced strong opposition to a proposed data center during a contentious planning commission meeting on Monday night.
The meeting was held inside an auditorium on the campus of Penn State Great Valley.
After hours of public comment, the East Whiteland Township Planning Commission did not vote the project up or down to the Board of Supervisors, choosing instead to return it for additional investigation of residents’ concerns.
Ahead of the meeting, residents gathered outside, holding signs protesting the proposed data center, which would be built along Swedesford Road and Valley Creek Boulevard at the former Foote Mineral Co. Superfund site.
Kelly Donia, who lives in the Malvern Hunt neighborhood near the proposed site, said she is concerned about how close the development would be to homes and workplaces.
“I am not against artificial intelligence. What I’m against is having these so close where people live and work,” Donia said. “I think they need to be away from people until we understand them.”
“There’s so much going on right now with data centers, the health risks, the devaluation of property, the utility costs. There’s so much legislation out there right now about to be approved. I say let’s just take a pause and let’s not build this data center right now,” she added.
Inside the meeting, residents raised a range of concerns, including potential effects on property values, power usage and health.
“What will this do to the value of our homes?” asked Chris Fontana.
“If approved, this single site would draw more power than every single home in our entire county combined,” said Tony Ginino of Malvern.
“This data center will bring multiple disruptions,” said Dr. Srini Pevali of Malvern, addressing the planning commission.
A plan for two buildings totaling more than 1 million square feet on the site has already been approved. However, the developer is now proposing changes that would add more square footage, nearly 1.7 million square feet across two buildings on the property, which is zoned for data center development.
Deb Abel, of the East Whiteland Township Planning Commission, emphasized that the project itself is already approved.
“This data center is coming. It’s an approved data center,” Abel said. “The question remains, which plan will be better for our community? That’s where we’re at,” she said to jeers from the packed auditorium.
While the revised proposal is larger, developers say it includes additional safeguards, such as enhanced landscaping, ongoing noise monitoring and a redesign they say reduces water use.
“We’ll be taking no water out of the water table here,” said Charlie Lyddane of Green Fig LLC. “These modifications will allow us to build and” architecturally attractive state-of-the-art facility using very little water.”
Josh Rabina, of Sentinel Data Centers, told the commission he’s been in this particular business for 25 years and has never seen a complaint.
“It’s new for us not to be an asset to the community,” Rabina said.
Not everyone who spoke at the meeting opposed the project.
Douglas Strang, of Steamfitters Local Union 420, said the development would bring significant job opportunities.
“This job would have a tremendous impact on the working men and women in our union and also many other local construction organizations,” Strang said. “This project will provide consistent work for the dedicated workers, and their families will benefit greatly.”
Opponents said they are not giving up.
“When communities show up like this, and they speak up, these projects are being stopped or delayed,” said Ginny Marcille-Kerslake of Food & Water Action.
It remains unclear when the Board of Supervisors will take any action, but their next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.
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