Royersford's mayor sought a clearer answer from the borough solicitor Tuesday night on a question that has been landing in her inbox: can concerned residents travel to neighboring municipalities and speak out against data center developments — or can those communities shut them out?
At the Royersford Borough Council meeting, Mayor Alex Metricarti said residents had been reaching out, eager to attend meetings in nearby townships to voice opposition to proposed data centers. But word had spread that some municipalities were drawing lines around who could participate in public comment — potentially barring anyone who doesn't live within a set distance of a project site.
"My understanding is that these other municipalities are now drawing rules that say if you're not from that municipality or you don't live within X number of miles from the site, you can't speak at the meetings," Metricarti said. "Is that accurate?"
The borough solicitor offered a measured response. She drew a distinction between party status — a formal legal standing typically required in zoning hearings, where residency within 500 feet of a site can matter — and general public comment, which she said is a different matter entirely.
Generally speaking, the solicitor said anyone can provide public comment, but she acknowledged that "each municipality has their own rules." She noted that Royersford itself does not confirm speakers live in the borough before allowing them to address council.
Still, the solicitor stopped short of declaring the practice outright improper. "I don't think there is anything that says if you're not a member of this specific municipality, you are not allowed to give comments," she said "I would have to look into that further."
The discussion comes as the Spring-Ford area prepares for a series of upcoming hearings tied to proposed data center projects in neighboring municipalities. Conditional use hearings are scheduled for April 14 in Limerick Township and April 20 in East Vincent Township, while both proposals are expected to appear before the respective planning commissions on April 9.
In Limerick Township, officials have already begun discussing how to manage what is expected to be significant public interest in those proceedings. Members of the Board of Supervisors have raised the possibility of prioritizing public comment from township residents, though no formal policy has been adopted. Separately, the board announced that, effective April 1, written email comments will no longer be read aloud during meetings — a change intended to help manage increasingly lengthy public comment periods.
