Smithfield Draws a New Line — but Not Around the Project Everyone’s Fighting

Yesterday we told you about Wednesday night's Smithfield Township supervisors' hearing. We only caught the tail end and didn't have a vote count. We do now.

The Board of Supervisors voted Aug. 12 to approve Ordinance No. 268, rewriting the township's data center zoning rules after a public hearing at J.T. Lambert Intermediate School. Chairman Jacob Pride said data centers are no longer by-right in the industrial zone or conditional-use in the economic development zone — any future proposal now needs conditional-use approval in a new heavy industrial zone near the old paper mill by Delaware Water Gap, capped at 50,000 square feet. The ordinance also adds larger setbacks, bars clearcutting, and requires an energy usage plan, utility certifications, a sound assessment, a community impact statement, and a bonding requirement.

Solicitor Ronold Karasek warned the ordinance could invite a legal challenge — a court could see it as “exclusionary zoning,” which can be unconstitutional in Pennsylvania. I had to look that one up. Exclusionary zoning is when a local government uses its zoning powers not just to organize land use, but to effectively block a particular type of development, group of residents, or use from the municipality altogether — often under the guise of a legitimate zoning purpose.

Residents pushed for even more: a “green amendment” for deeper environmental review, a list of non-negotiables on noise and water standards, and setbacks that scale with a project's size instead of treating a five-megawatt facility like a hyperscale campus. Supervisor Michael Albert said he wants to add noise, fire safety, and buffer provisions soon, but wanted this version to pass first.

Here's an important note. WNEP reports the Smithfield Gateway project on Route 209 is not subject to the zoning changes. The site was already zoned for economic development, and because its application predates the zoning change, Pride says the case law favors the developer. The township also got a revised plan this week: the developer now wants to consolidate the two data centers into one. No hearing date yet.

Roadwork in Monroe County this month →Upcoming public meetings →