Straban will hold a public hearing Monday, March 3, to allow input on zoning regulations that would govern any data center projects seeking approval to build in the township in the future.
Township staff has crafted a draft ordinance based on examples from other municipalities and input from the township’s engineer, zoning officer, and attorney, as well as the planning commission. The full draft of the language is available through contacting the township offices, and a summary of the information is posted on their website.
The public hearing will be held at 6:45 p.m. in the meeting room of 1745 Granite Station Road, Gettysburg, PA.
“Quite simply the Township’s need to start looking at Data Centers was triggered by the rising interest in developing data center sites in the surrounding areas and the Township acknowledged that they did not have this use provided for within their ordinances. The Township decided to be proactive and establish where data centers could go and what requirements would apply to them before someone came in with a data center project,” the township stated in response to an email to town offices.
“In short, if a specific use is not provided for within a municipality, then the developer can make a claim that the use can go anywhere in the Township. So it is in the best interest of the Township to provide for all uses within their appropriate districts.”
This process of creating this curative amendment for the Straban Township Code started in October 2024.
If approved, the new language will amend Chapter 140 of the code, “by amending definitions and provisions relating to data centers and battery energy storage systems and the definition of accessory solar energy systems.”
Data Centers and Battery Energy Storage Systems would be categorized as Industrial Uses, allowed within two zoning districts, the Economic Development Intense (EC-2) district, and a specific section of the economic development (EC-1) district, only within the Distribution, Terminal, Fulfillment Overlay which is centered on the intersection of Rt. 30 and Rt. 15 and the surrounding area.
The EC-2 district is considered the most industrial area of the Township, Engineer Erik Vranich said when explaining the reasoning to the Planning Commission. The EC-1’s Distribution, Terminal, Fulfillment Overlay already includes warehouses as a use, which the drafters considered somewhat similar to data centers.
More detail is available on the Straban Township zoning map.
The draft amendment includes multiple regulations that developers would need to consider in planning when proposing a data center or battery energy storage system project.
For example, it would require a buffer yard setback from residential properties with “dense screen of evergreen and deciduous trees”, as well as a visual screen of native vegetation between the center and the roadway.
The draft would require developers to present a water impact study to determine that a project’s water system would not adversely impact nearby wells, ponds, and streams. The Planning Commission requested that this section be well defined because of the possibility that a center could be water cooled, thus requiring larger volumes of water.
Other sections of the draft address more planning matters, such as emergency preparedness, hazardous materials, sound studies, and traffic studies. If the site creates vibration of equipment, for example fans and pumps, the ordinance would require that it does not extend past the property line.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday February 26 to recommend adoption of the curative amendment. It will go before the Board of Supervisors for a vote at their upcoming meeting, Monday March 3, beginning after the public hearing.
Other news from Wednesday’s Planning Commission meeting includes:
Multiple projects were granted extensions for the preparation of plans. The Planning Commission stated that they will be less likely to grant conditional approvals to plans with unaddressed action items. It strains township staff’s resources to track these conditions to ensure they are met, Chair John Hartzell said.
Hartzell will pause his commission duties for a few months due to a personal commitment. Alan Zepp, who previously served as chair of the planning commission, and is a current member of the Board of Supervisors, will fill the role until Hartzell’s return.
Catalina Righter, freelance reporter, lives in New Oxford. She previously wrote for the Carroll County Times and the Kent County News, covering crime, education, local government and arts. She works as a legal assistant.