Royersford Borough is taking steps to get ahead of potential data center development, with council members authorizing the preparation of a new ordinance that would impose specific conditions on such facilities.
Borough Manager Donna Ziegler brought the matter forward during Tuesday’s Borough Council meeting, explaining that both the borough solicitor and building inspector had recommended taking action.
"It was recommended by our solicitor that we adopt an ordinance — this would be for us to impose certain conditions on data centers," Ziegler told council. "It was also recommended by our building inspector that the borough update some of our definitions in our code as well."
Council made a motion for the solicitor to prepare a draft ordinance as well as an amendment to the definitions in Royersford’s borough code, a procedural step aimed at ensuring the rules are clearly enforceable once adopted. The measure passed without opposition.
The discussion took place the same evening that a conditional use hearing began for a large-scale data center proposal in neighboring Limerick Township. In nearby East Vincent, another hearing for a separate data center project at the Pennhurst site is scheduled to begin on Monday.
Issues related to data centers have been discussed at Royersford Borough Council meetings in recent months. In March, borough officials reviewed insights from a regional workshop on data center development, where they emphasized the importance of updating zoning ordinances in advance to maintain local control and address potential impacts such as noise, energy use, and setbacks.
Mayor Alex Metricarti also recently raised concerns about whether Royersford Borough residents could participate in proceedings related to data center projects in nearby townships.
The draft ordinance and code amendments will be prepared by the solicitor before returning to council for formal consideration. No timeline for adoption was specified at the meeting.
This article was generated with AI assistance. All content was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by John McGuire.
