ARCHBALD, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Another clash over the future of energy in northeastern Pennsylvania, this time in Archbald. The borough council voted on an amendment to its zoning ordinance for data centers.
The proposal failed, a decision that pleased many residents but frustrated the zoning board.28/22's Avery Nape was at the meeting Friday night to learn why the change drew so much opposition.
"We are not going anywhere. We will continue to fight for you to save our community from these that see profit instead of people," Geralyn Esposito of Archbald said.
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This testimony echoed the sentiments of many in the crowd following the failure of an amendment that would have established four data center overlay zones within Archbald Borough.
Many residents see it as a win, but members of the borough's zoning board say the zones would have restricted future development to those areas and given the board more control when it comes to what is built there, something they hoped would better protect the community, but many were not convinced.
"You're overlaying the ability to put data centers in what is now residential areas, what is now resource conservation areas," Ernest Lemoncelli of Archbald argued.
"If the council votes to push this amendment forward as written against the results of your own survey, and against overwhelming public testimony, then the message is unmistakable," Tamara Misewicz-Healey said.
And the council listened. Since the amendment was shot down, data center applicants can still apply to build in any light industrial or commercial light industrial zones in the borough: that's 12 separate areas. Two of the three development applications the borough has received have already been grandfathered in under the current zoning ordinance and would not have been impacted by the amendment anyway.
With the amendment falling flat, residents and council members now say, the fight against data center development is far from over.
Although the amendment failed, it could be brought back at a future meeting.
