East Vincent Township has announced a new date for the ongoing conditional use hearing tied to the proposed Pennhurst data center project.
According to a notice posted on the township’s website, the next hearing will be held Thursday, May 21, at 6:30 p.m. at East Vincent Elementary School, located at 340 Ridge Road in Spring City.
The hearing had tentatively been expected to continue on Monday, May 18.
Township officials said formal public notice of the May 21 hearing will be provided in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, including required advertising and posting. A Zoom link for remote viewing is expected to be shared ahead of the meeting.
The hearing process follows a contentious initial session on April 20, where the East Vincent Board of Supervisors began determining which residents and organizations would receive “party status,” allowing them to participate more fully in the proceedings.
Additional hearings are expected in East Vincent as the township continues reviewing the proposal from Penn Hurst Holdings DE, LLC, which seeks approval to develop a nearly 1.9 million-square-foot data center complex on the Pennhurst site.
The updated schedule in East Vincent comes as nearby Limerick Township recently announced changes of its own tied to ongoing data center proceedings. In a notice posted last week, Limerick officials said upcoming conditional use hearings would be relocated to the township municipal building and accompanied by increased security measures. The initial session on April 14 was held at Spring-Ford Area High School to accommodate the expected turnout.
Township officials cited “recent online threats” related to the proposed projects as the reason for the change, noting that the decision followed a security risk assessment. The move reflects growing tensions surrounding large-scale data center proposals across the region, where hearings have drawn significant public turnout and heightened emotions.
The Limerick hearing is scheduled to continue on Monday, May 11, at 646 W. Ridge Pike. Officials are expected to provide additional details about logistics ahead of the meeting.
Meanwhile, officials in nearby Upper Providence Township and Royersford Borough have both moved this month to begin drafting ordinances regulating data centers, an effort aimed at establishing local standards before any potential development applications are formally submitted.
