Allen Township Board of Supervisors expect to hold a public hearing in July on a proposed data center ordinance. At its meeting April 28, the board voted 4-0, with Supervisor Sean Sculley absent, to move forward on the adoption process and begin advertising for a public hearing on the proposed ordinance.

The proposed ordinance would establish boundaries for a district within Allen Township in which data centers would be permitted and outline the requirements for data centers within the township. Data centers would be allowed in what the ordinance would call a data center overlay district, said B. Lincoln Treadwell Jr., township solicitor.

“That data center overlay district would be located where the current I/C (industrial/commercial) district is, to the west of Howertown Road, north of (State Route) 329, south of Horner Road, and east of the boundary with Northampton Borough,” Treadwell said of the current proposal.

In March, township supervisors approved a proposal from Prologis to convert its existing warehouse at 2500 Liberty Drive, just off Route 329 near Savage Road, to a data center.

Last month, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission members asked for clarification on several points about the Prologis proposal, including water and electrical demand, wastewater discharge, cooling system design, noise analysis, lighting plans and traffic generation.

In addition, LVPC members suggested the township further refine its zoning ordinance in relation to data centers. Back in March, township supervisors approved work to begin on a data center ordinance.

Regarding the proposal outlined at the meeting, township supervisors expressed approval of the proposed overlay district boundaries.

“It keeps it in, again what I said last time when the applicant came, the best area in the township where it could be,” Supervisor Gary Behler said.

Beyond the overlay district, the ordinance would also address other standards such as electrical consumption, water usage and noise. Supervisors focused their discussion on those other standards, particularly the water usage issue.

While the Prologis data center would use a closed-loop water usage system, which company officials compared to “filling up a pool once,” they examined language that would permit data centers to use something other than a closed-loop system if it used less water than the closed-loop system.

“I am not sure if I am sold on that,” Supervisor Jason Frack said, noting there could be concerns around discharge without a closed-loop system.

Buildings currently in that overlay district have access to public wastewater and water, and the language allowed for flexibility with the township’s approval, Treadwell said.

“There might be a system that is not closed-loop that comes out that is more efficient,” Supervisor Paul Link said.

Additionally, such a future system may not even use water with technological advances, township officials noted.

A public hearing could occur July 14, township officials said.

Any data center ordinance approved would not affect the Prologis proposal because that plan has already been approved, Treadwell said.

In another matter related to data centers, township supervisors unanimously approved a proposal for review of acoustic evaluations of data centers from Lewis S. Goodfriend and Associates with a proposed fee schedule.

In other news, township supervisors unanimously approved an assignment and assumption agreement between Allen Development Partners LLC and Marcie Ventures LLC for the transfer of the property where Wawa is being constructed at the intersection of Route 329 and Savage Road.

Two requests for township fire police were also unanimously approved. The requests cover Memorial Day events May 24 and the Catasauqua High School graduation May 30.