The South Whitehall Township Planning Commission spent nearly three hours Thursday hearing the first public presentation of Project Atlas, a proposed hyperscale data center campus near Parkland High School.

Although no vote was expected, the July 9 meeting drew a standing-room-only crowd to Springhouse Middle School, where township officials repeatedly emphasized that the application remains under review.

Planning Commission Chairman David Wilson opened the meeting by stressing that the session was intended as an introduction to the project rather than a decision point. He said township staff and consultants are continuing their review and that numerous ordinance requirements still must be addressed before the commission considers a recommendation.

Township staff summarized a proposal submitted by CDC Acquisitions LLC, an affiliate of Edged Data Centers. The plan calls for three data center buildings of about 500,000 square feet each, two accessory buildings, an electrical substation, access roads, 399 parking spaces, stormwater facilities, fencing and landscaping. It also includes installation of public water and private sanitary systems, construction of a new roadway through the property and restoration of a historic barn that would ultimately be dedicated to the township.

Before the applicant presentation began, township engineer Anthony Tallarida told commissioners that staff could not recommend preliminary plan approval because of numerous deficiencies related to site design, roadway layout and stormwater management.

Greg Adelman, the applicant’s attorney, described the meeting as part of an ongoing review process and said the project differs from many data centers because of its closed-loop cooling system, limited traffic generation and compliance with South Whitehall’s recently adopted data center ordinance.

Representatives of Edged Data Centers said the 406-acre campus would place its three primary buildings about 1,700 feet from Parkland High School. Company officials contrasted the proposal with other industrial development that could occur under the property’s zoning, arguing that traditional industrial uses could generate substantially more truck traffic and place buildings closer to neighboring properties.

The company said the project would represent nearly $9 billion in private investment, create about 280 permanent jobs and generate more than $16 million annually in property tax revenue for local governments and the Parkland School District.

Following the presentation, commissioners challenged several aspects of the proposal.

Members pushed back on comparisons with warehouse development, noting that warehouses are not permitted under the property’s current zoning.

Questions also focused heavily on backup diesel generators, fuel storage, testing schedules and noise impacts.

Applicant representatives said each generator would have a double-walled fuel tank equipped with leak detection and that no centralized fuel storage facility is planned.

However, planning commission members requested a written testing schedule to better understand how often generators would operate and for how long.

Noise became another significant issue.

The applicant’s acoustic consultant said cooling equipment would comply with township noise limits and argued that emergency generators are exempt from those standards.

Township manager Tom Petrucci disagreed, saying routine generator testing should be treated as normal operations and therefore subject to township noise regulations.

Traffic generated another lengthy discussion.

Developers estimated the completed campus would generate fewer than 1,200 vehicle trips per day and fewer than five truck deliveries daily once operational.

Commissioners questioned whether the traffic study adequately considered construction traffic, emergency fuel deliveries and a proposed roadway connecting Cedar Crest Boulevard and Mauch Chunk Road.

They also expressed concern that motorists could use the roadway to bypass congestion near Parkland High School, potentially increasing traffic on Suncrest Drive and other nearby residential streets.

More than a dozen residents addressed the commission during public comment, voicing concerns about traffic, air quality, diesel emissions, noise, electrical infrastructure, property values and environmental impacts.

Several speakers focused specifically on the project’s location near Parkland High School.

Former Parkland School District Superintendent Gary McCartney urged officials to consider the community’s decades-long investment in the high school before approving nearby industrial development.

Attorney Jason Aldrich, representing the South Whitehall Civic Alliance, called on the township to consider a formal hearing process that would allow residents’ experts to question the developer’s witnesses and present testimony.

No action was taken Thursday.

The Planning Commission will continue reviewing the proposal after additional information is submitted and evaluated by township staff and consultants.