The East Vincent Township Planning Commission last week recommended against approving a data center proposal at the former Pennhurst State School and Hospital grounds.

The commissioners on Feb. 17 voted to advise the board of supervisors that the application was “significantly technically deficient” and didn’t comply with the township’s zoning ordinance “in some major ways,” chair Rachael Griffith said. The project is slated to come before the supervisors at a conditional-use hearing at East Vincent Elementary School on March 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Pennhurst Holdings LLC, whose principal is Derek Strine, is proposing to build a 1.3 million square-foot data center at the former Pennhurst site, now used as a Halloween attraction.

Strine and his lawyers did not appear at the meeting on Feb. 17. Instead, they sent a letter that day announcing their intention to submit revised plans before the March hearing and requested commissioners vote in favor of the project.

Members of the planning commission criticized the developer’s absence and their last-minute letter.

“This is especially germane, given the lamentably poor technical quality of detail presented in the plans,” vice chairman Lawson Macartney said.

Township Manager Robert Zienkowski called the move insulting and “a slap in the face of the township.”

Pennhurst Holdings’ application includes five buildings, an electric substation and solar field. The campus would sit by the Schuylkill River and across the street from the Southeastern Veterans’ Center.

Residents have pushed back on the plan for months, expressing concerns about noise, traffic, property values, water availability and public health risks. Others worry about potential contaminants on the grounds.

At the Feb. 17 meeting, commissioners said the application lacked information about the impact on water, the environment, electricity, employment and other aspects. Macartney noted that the proposed facility is five times larger than permitted under the zoning ordinance.

“I just think this is the biggest, most impactful development that’s been proposed in our community since I’ve been on the planning commission,” Griffith said. “I’m just shocked at the minimal detail that has been provided and just doing the absolute bare minimum, especially when data centers are such a hot topic these days.

“I’m just sort of dumbfounded as to why they thought we might be interested in recommending this in the first place,” she added.

In the letter, the developer’s attorney, Matthew McHugh, said the developer plans to add onsite private power generation consisting of a natural gas and battery storage installation. The letter came after Gov. Josh Shapiro announced that data centers will need to provide their own power generation.

McHugh also wrote that the facility is expected to have a closed-loop cooling system to reduce water usage and its primary water sources would be the “municipal systems and captured rainwater,” not well water. The project will create an estimated 1,000 construction jobs and 250 permanent jobs, McHugh wrote. The total building square footage and maximum building heights wouldn’t change.

“Based on the materials presently before the township, there is no factual or legal basis to conclude that the proposed development would create impacts greater than those ordinarily associated with a permitted conditional use,” the letter reads.

Christine McNeil, president of East Vincent Advocacy, recommended that commissioners press the developer to submit a revised application.

“The Planning Commission deserves recognition for their unanimous recommendation tonight,” McNeil said in a statement to the Local. “Their careful evaluation and willingness to uphold the township’s zoning standards sends a powerful message: Our ordinances matter, and proposals must meet them.”

State Sen. Katie Muth (D-44th district) thanked the commissioners for “protecting our community.” Muth, an East Vincent resident, is working with Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan to demand a three-year data center moratorium in Pennsylvania.

Kevin Feeley, a spokesperson who represents the developer and has ties to Chestnut Hill, said in a statement that “we have spent months in discussions with township officials, and we have exchanged a great deal of information about the development on a regular basis throughout this period.”

 Feeley said the developer will draft and resubmit plans to address comments about onsite power generation and water generation.

 “We look forward to presenting the project to the Board of Supervisors at the upcoming conditional use hearings,” his statement reads.

Shapiro has enacted measures to streamline AI data center development in Pennsylvania. Since these facilities need copious amounts of water, developers have proposed them along freshwater sources like the Schuylkill River, which provides drinking water to Philadelphia residents.

If the developer submits new plans, the application will be reviewed by the planning commission again.

Abby Weiss is an environmental reporter for the Local and a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at abby@chestnuthilllocal.com.