Fayette County should act now, before a large-scale data center proposal is submitted, to protect our farmland, water, electrical infrastructure, property owners, and local communities.
Unlike many Pennsylvania counties, the Fayette County Planning and Zoning Office directly administers zoning and planning for 31 of the county’s 42 municipalities. The remaining 11 municipalities administer their own zoning.
That means Fayette County government has a direct and meaningful role in determining how data centers would be classified and regulated throughout most of the county.
As Recorder of Deeds, I believe responsible government means identifying potential threats early, educating the public, and offering practical solutions before residents are placed at a disadvantage.
That is why I have developed a sample zoning ordinance amendment for Fayette County and its municipalities to consider.
The sample ordinance would establish large-scale and hyperscale data centers as their own distinct zoning use.
A data center could not automatically be treated as a:
This distinction is important because data centers can create impacts that are significantly different from those associated with traditional commercial or industrial development.
The sample ordinance provides that data centers would not be permitted as a principal use, conditional use, or special exception in any existing Fayette County zoning district.
This would prevent a developer from attempting to place a data center into an existing zoning category that was never intended for that type of facility.
Large-scale data centers may require extraordinary amounts of:
They can also create concerns involving:
Fayette County should not wait until a developer has purchased property, secured utility commitments, and begun pressuring local officials before addressing these issues.
Because Fayette County administers zoning for 31 municipalities, the county can consider amending the Fayette County Zoning Ordinance to create a separate data center classification within those communities.
For the 11 municipalities that administer their own zoning, the sample ordinance can serve as a model that local officials may adopt or modify.
The county can:
The county should not surrender its authority or pretend it has no role. In most of Fayette County, the county itself administers the zoning ordinance.
The sample ordinance does not:
The proposal creates a clear classification and establishes that data centers cannot be approved under existing zoning categories.
Decisions affecting Fayette County should be made by the people who live here, not by outside corporations, utility companies, political insiders, or state officials looking for someplace to place another massive industrial project.
The county and its municipalities must retain the ability to protect:
Local control means establishing the rules before outside developers arrive, not negotiating from a position of weakness after the project is already underway.
There may not currently be a publicly announced data center proposal in Fayette County. That is exactly why action should be considered now.
Responsible planning means:
Fayette County has already experienced the consequences of government waiting until problems become crises.
We should not make that mistake again.
This ordinance is being presented as a sample for discussion, legal review, and consideration by Fayette County officials, municipal governments, farmers, residents, business owners, first responders, and community leaders.
Before adoption, any ordinance should be reviewed by a qualified Pennsylvania municipal solicitor and supported by a complete public record documenting the potential effects of large-scale data centers.
Fayette County must make it clear that our farmland, water, electricity, property rights, and communities are not for sale to the highest bidder.
We must act before it is too late.
Pennsylvania law generally gives municipalities the authority to adopt land-use policies and regulate development. Fayette County is different from counties where zoning is handled almost entirely by individual townships, boroughs, and cities.
Fayette County has 42 municipalities. Eleven municipalities administer their own zoning, while the Fayette County Planning and Zoning Office administers zoning and planning for the remaining 31 municipalities.
This means the Fayette County Commissioners have a direct responsibility for zoning policy across most of the county. For the 31 municipalities operating under county zoning, the commissioners can propose amendments to the Fayette County Zoning Ordinance, subject to the public review and adoption procedures required by Pennsylvania law.
The 11 municipalities with their own zoning authority would need to consider and adopt their own local amendments.
Every zoning ordinance must comply with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and account for lawful land uses. However, that does not mean a new and uniquely intensive use such as a hyperscale data center must automatically be treated as a warehouse, office, utility building, or ordinary industrial facility.
Data centers should be separately defined so their demands on electricity, water, farmland, roads, emergency services, and surrounding properties can be addressed openly and honestly.
A Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, commonly called a SALDO, is a local law governing the division, improvement, and development of land.
A SALDO can regulate matters such as:
Fayette County has a county Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance administered through its Planning, Zoning and Community Development Office. A municipality may also adopt its own SALDO and assume responsibility for local subdivision and land-development approvals.
A SALDO can establish important development standards for data centers, including requirements for water-impact studies, traffic studies, stormwater controls, utility plans, emergency-access plans, environmental reviews, and financial security for decommissioning.
However, a SALDO generally regulates how land is developed. It does not serve the same purpose as zoning and should not be relied upon alone to decide whether a data center is permitted in a particular location.
A zoning ordinance determines where specific land uses may be located and establishes the rules applying to those uses.
Zoning may regulate:
For the 31 municipalities under Fayette County zoning, the Fayette County Zoning Ordinance controls these decisions. For the 11 municipalities with independent zoning, the local municipal ordinance applies.
This distinction matters because a data center should not be allowed to slip through a loophole by claiming to be an ordinary warehouse, office building, utility facility, technology center, or industrial use.
The proposed sample ordinance would establish large-scale data centers as a separate and distinct land-use classification. It would make clear that no existing use category should be interpreted as automatically authorizing a data center.
A strong approach requires both zoning and land-development protections.
The zoning ordinance determines whether and where a data center may operate.
The SALDO establishes the development standards that would apply if the use were ever authorized.
For the communities under county zoning, Fayette County should examine both ordinances before a developer submits an application. The 11 municipalities with their own zoning authority should be encouraged to undertake the same review.
Waiting until land has been purchased, utility agreements have been negotiated, and millions of dollars have been committed would leave residents and local officials negotiating from a position of weakness.
Fayette County should establish clear rules now, while the public still has a meaningful voice in the process.
No, Pennsylvania law requires municipalities to allow for all lawful land uses.
No. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled moratoriums are not permitted.