West Hempfield Township Data Center Information:

UPDATE 7-7-2026:  The West Hempfield Township Board of Supervisors passed a resolution tonight to start the "Curative Amendment" process.  Under Section 609.2 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), a municipal curative amendment allows us to self-declare our zoning ordinance substantively invalid to fix regulatory gaps—such as missing provisions for data centers, while shielding ourselves from landowner challenges for 180 days.  Our ordinance amendment now needs to make its way through the Lancaster County Planning Commission, West Hempfield Township Planning Commission, and then to our Board of Supervisors for a public hearing and possible adoption September 1, 2026.   It is important to understand that the draft amendment must be adopted as written or the process restarts.  The Township can go back later and revise specific items if/when the need arises.

Resolution 9-26: Curative Amendment

Prior information:

Many of our residents are aware that data centers are currently a hot topic.  Data centers have been in existence for decades.  Nearly everyone is using them today - in fact this website you are viewing is hosted in a data center somewhere.  However, the current size of some newly proposed data centers is much larger than ever before, and the speed at which developers are pursuing new facilities is faster than ever before.  States and municipalities, including ours, are quickly trying to learn everything we can to properly minimize potential impacts of this use.

  • At present, numerous data centers are proposing development in Pennsylvania, including central PA counties.  Nearly all municipalities are being contacted by real estate agents and professional site selectors to determine where data centers can most easily be located.  There is a significant amount of information circulating in the news and in social media, which makes the topic complicated and confusing to navigate.  The purpose of this page is for our West Hempfield Township community to understand the facts AS THEY RELATE TO WEST HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP.   This site will be updated as facts change.
  • By Pennsylvania Law, municipalities cannot prohibit data centers (or any other use).  They must be permitted somewhere in our Township.  Failure to follow this law will ultimately result in an approval by Commonwealth Court (the appellate court which decides municipal matters) which may not be conducive to our community.  For example, the court may decide where one can go if we don't.  (please note, the recent “no” vote in Columbia Borough was for the sale of property, not for the use itself.)
  • By Pennsylvania Law, we may not impose a moratorium on data center applications.  There are proposed bills in the PA House and Senate to change state law to allow this, but at the time of this post none have been adopted as law.  The purpose of a moratorium would be to slow down data center approvals and learn the facts before being forced to make permanent decisions.
    • House Bill 2496 is a bi-partisan bill, co-sponsored by our Township's State Representative Brett Miller.  It passed with a 201-1 vote in the full House, has passed out of Senate Committee 11-0, and now awaits a full Senate vote and the Governor's signature.
    • House Bill 2533 is a bi-partisan bill introduced in May 2026.  It has been referred to the Local Government Committee where it awaits a vote.
    • Senate Bill 1359 is a bi-partisan bill also introduced in May 2026.  It has been referred to the Local Government Committee where it awaits a vote.
  • The Township may implement, by ordinance, regulations for any use, including data centers.  However, they must be "reasonable" and may not be created in an effort to make data center development impossible (for example, a recent social media post suggested that municipalities require 10,000 acres of land and submit a $1 trillion bond - both of which would obviously be ruled "unreasonable" by Commonwealth Court. If the Township imposes "unreasonable” regulations, Commonwealth Court may strike down our ordinance and allow a data center in our community without regulations - which would not be good for our community.
  • Much opposition to data centers are based on a fear of Artificial Intelligence (AI).   Municipalities do not have authority or jurisdiction to regulate or control AI. 
  • The term “data center” has many meanings.  Much of the information being circulated on social media is “worst case scenario” based on the largest facilities ever built somewhere in the world, often referred to as “Mega data centers” or “Hyper data centers.”  The important task for municipalities is to determine exactly what is being proposed, or would most likely be proposed, here locally and what the true impacts will be on our community.   For example, what are the real impacts of electric usage, water usage, noise, heat, etc. from a proposed facility, and how do we regulate and minimize those impacts.
  • At present, data centers are permitted in West Hempfield Township, with very little regulation.  Essentially, they are considered “light industrial uses,” which has been a common designation for most PA municipalities for decades.  Only a very small percent of our Township is zoned for light industrial uses, with most of that land already developed.  With this in mind, we do not anticipate the largest mega data centers coming here, unless they redevelop existing industrial facilities.
  • West Hempfield Township, along with many other local municipalities, has begun the process of amending our ordinances to provide regulations for data center developments.  These regulations will be reviewed by the Lancaster County Planning Commission, the West Hempfield Township Planning Commission, and ultimately the West Hempfield Township Board of Supervisors.  Each of these meetings are public and will include public comment. 
  • Municipalities attempting to amend their data center ordinances are recently experiencing significant community pushback, as many people believe we should ban them outright or impose extreme regulations.  As stated above, we cannot do that!  If our ordinance is delayed or blocked, data centers will remain permitted in our Township, without safeguards needed to protect our community.  

​Please support our efforts and help us implement reasonable regulations to safeguard our community without risking that the Commonwealth Court will dictate how things will happen in our Township.