Radnor advances rules placing data centers in two office park zones

Radnor commissioners advanced a draft ordinance Monday that would restrict where data centers can be built in the township.

The proposal confines data center construction to laboratory-office zoning districts, of which Radnor has two. One sits off Radnor Chester Road, holding a Penn Medicine building, restaurants and corporate offices, and abuts Radnor High School. The other lies off Matsonford Road, contains office buildings, and shares borders with residential neighborhoods and Archbishop John Carroll High School. Any data center in those zones would need conditional use approval from the board of commissioners.

Developers would have to file water, thermal impact and power feasibility studies for township approval before breaking ground. The ordinance would require air-based or closed-loop liquid cooling systems and compliance with state and federal environmental control standards. Once operating, a data center would need a publicly available contact to answer complaints within 72 hours. Developers would also post a $100,000 deposit with the township, returned five years after the facility reaches full production, minus any funds needed to remediate damage to the local water supply.

Megan Donovin, Radnor's zoning officer, told the meeting that no data centers are proposed for Radnor now. She said adopting zoning rules would let the township "establish clear standards" and "maintain as much local control as possible." She added that the intent is "to keep this at a smaller, controlled scale and avoid the type of purpose-built, hyper-scale facility that people usually picture when they hear the term 'data center.'" Pennsylvania townships cannot ban data centers outright, but they may write zoning rules governing location, size, energy use and construction methods.

The draft remains in early stages. Commissioners, the public, and township boards and committees will weigh in before an official vote, and officials said the text is likely to change with that feedback.

Data center construction has grown across Pennsylvania, and resident groups have pressed municipalities to tighten rules on the facilities. Delaware County issued guidance in May recommending that data centers be treated as conditional uses and that local ordinances address noise, heat, light pollution and water usage. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order in August restricting data center development and requiring local approval before projects can earn state permits.