The Township has learned that inaccurate information is being circulated regarding the proposed data center ordinance. We want to make sure the community has accurate information.
First, the next public discussion of the draft data center ordinance will be at the Planning Commission meeting on December 16th, 2026, at 7pm. The data center ordinance is not on their November 18th agenda as has been circulated. The public is welcome to attend and share feedback.
Second, no development plans or applications have been submitted for a data center, and we don’t know if one ever will. This ordinance process is not a review of a pending application and is not tied to any type of approval for a data center. It is an effort to be prudent, set regulations and protect the Township so that we don’t have an application filed with no guiderails in place. This process is needed because Pennsylvania law requires municipalities in Pennsylvania to allow for every legal land use. Lower Gwynedd Township is going through a curative amendment process initiated in July 2026, where our zoning ordinance was declared invalid because it does not currently provide for a data center use anywhere in the Township. Since then, Township staff has been working on a proposed ordinance that would establish regulations for data center development and allow a data center only at 500 Railroad Avenue.
The curative amendment process essentially paused the possibility of any data center applications being submitted while we updated the zoning ordinance. This pause will end on January 24th, 2027, which makes it extremely important that a data center ordinance is adopted before that date.
To stay informed about the latest information, please go to the data center page on our website. It includes a presentation that was given at a Board of Supervisors public meeting on October 6th providing background and a summary of the proposed ordinance. The ordinance is also located on this page, which is linked below for your reference. The schedule outlined in the October 6th presentation was tentative and since then the Planning Commission discussion about the ordinance was moved to their December 16th meeting.
