The Upper Merion Board of Supervisors on Aug. 13 rejected a developer’s plans to build an AI data center campus bigger than the King of Prussia Mall or Philadelphia International Airport.

Supervisors denied Brian O’Neill’s five plans for the 4.6-million-square-foot campus due to what they said were multiple deficiencies, including a lack of details on stormwater management, traffic impacts and environmental hazards. O’Neill’s team said they were willing to present more information on the plan and go through every one of the township officials’ comments, but supervisors said those details should have been submitted earlier.

“I am just shocked at the lack of information that was provided,” Supervisor Greg Philips said.

“We get more detailed information from developers who want to build houses in this township,” Supervisor Carole Kenney said.

The supervisors also denied O’Neill an extension on the projects.

Many attendees at the meeting, some of whom were holding “Deny” signs and wore “No Data Centers” stickers, reacted to the board votes with cheers and standing ovations. A large group of residents has been mobilizing against the plan since the spring, citing concerns about noise, public health risks, property values and other impacts. A Change.org petition opposing the projects had nearly 18,000 signatures as of Friday.

O’Neill, who’s argued that the projects will generate significant economic benefits for the township, declined to comment to the Local, but told 6ABC News that his team is “absolutely going to appeal to get that plan approved.” His other option is to file new or revised plans.

The developer planned to build the data centers in King of Prussia’s Renaissance Park for AI, life sciences, drug discovery and other uses. The proposed facilities included natural gas turbines and backup generators. According to a report commissioned by O’Neill and produced by 4ward Planning, the projects would generate $55.4 million in annual local tax revenue for Upper Merion Township, most of which would be allocated to the school district.

Planning commissioners voted in July not to recommend three of the five projects to the Board of Supervisors, also citing what they said was a lack of details. During the July 22 meeting, O’Neill said much of the information they requested was on a slide presentation. But it was vague and at times contradictory to the original plans, supervisors said at last week’s meeting.

O’Neill filed a lawsuit on Aug. 11 seeking an extension of the projects’ review period. He said township officials did not give his team enough time to respond to all their concerns. A judge granted an injunction that briefly disallowed township officials to take any action on the applications, including the planning commission’s vote on the rest of the projects. But a judge lifted the injunction, allowing the Board of Supervisors to hold its meeting as scheduled.

O’Neill’s attorney, Ed Campbell, said at last week’s meeting that his team received 25 review letters from township officials in the past few weeks and that he’s prepared to respond to all those concerns. When township solicitor Kailie Melchior pushed back, O’Neill asked if the board’s intention was “to prevent us from presenting our case in front of this board on a night where you want to render a decision?”

Board members responded that township officials had requested those details as far back as March. Some of the responses were not to their satisfaction, Township Engineer Al Vennettilli said. Director of Planning Jarrett Lash said O’Neill submitted his latest plan hours before last week’s meeting, after experts had already reviewed his applications.

Bill Jenaway, vice chair of the Board of Supervisors, criticized O’Neill for submitting significant information “at the 11th hour” and asked if this was a “filibustering request.”

“How do you expect us to make an intelligent, informed decision when we don’t have those types of details, which have been asked for by our team, our engineer, our planner and the county planning commission?” he added.

He later told O’Neill, “You’ve been bullying this board now for some time. These are not good qualities in a professional leader.”

O’Neill questioned whether the township code requires him to address review comments within a certain amount of time before the meeting. “I don’t believe that asking about rules and regulations… is bullying,” O’Neill responded.

“We absolutely each have personal bias, but that personal bias must not come before decision making,” said Tina Garzillo, the board chair. “There is a standardized process, whether we like or dislike the project. Each submittal follows the same format and gets the same attention and respect. And we base our decisions on defined ordinances and municipal planning code requirements regarding the health, safety and general welfare of the public.”

State Sen. Katie Muth — who represents parts of Montgomery County and recently introduced legislation to enact a moratorium on data center legislation — agreed with the board’s decisions, adding that officials “led with courage” and followed their township ordinance, she told The Local.

Resident Patti Erickson said O’Neill invited her and a group of neighbors to meet privately, but the discussion was brief and unproductive.

Erickson expects he will stick to his word and appeal the board’s decisions. If his team submits new plans, they will have to abide by Upper Merion Township’s data center ordinance, which contains specific requirements for height, noise and other potential impacts.

“But we can breathe for a bit,” she said. “Our voice was heard. We’re really, really excited.”

O’Neill is also proposing to build a hyperscale data center in Plymouth Township. The developer recently sued the township over its current zoning ordinance, arguing that it’s exclusionary against data centers. The challenge received a negative response from Gov. Josh Shapiro, who’s supported data center development. O’Neill also filed a special-exception application to advance his project. Plymouth Township’s next hearing is expected possibly in September.