Kutztown Adopts Data Center, Short-Term Rental Rules

Kutztown Borough Council adopted the first rules in its zoning code written for data centers and its first rules for short-term rentals on Sept. 15, and all three ordinances passed unanimously, according to minutes the borough posted Oct. 27. The minutes do not say whether Patricia Snyder, sworn in earlier that night, voted on them. The same night, council seated Patricia Snyder in the vacant Ward 1 seat over two no votes and voted to cancel every 2027 per-capita tax bill. The borough has also posted the signed ordinances.

For residents, the changes land in three places. Anyone renting a home or room to short-stay guests now needs a borough permit, and homes in residential zones can be rented that way for no more than 90 days a year. A data center can be proposed only in the borough's industrial zone, and only after a public hearing. And the borough's flat per-capita tax bill will not go out in 2027.

We previewed this meeting in September.

Data centers: industrial zone only, by conditional use

Ordinance 2-2026 amends Chapter 225, the zoning ordinance, to define data centers and set conditions for them (minutes, p. 3). The conditional-use procedure that will govern any application had not yet reached council: Bob Weller reported that the Planning Commission "worked on Conditional Use procedures and could be in Council's packets next month" (p. 6). The signed text allows them in "all Industrial Zoning districts, with the exception of the Medium Industrial Overlay Zoning District," and only by conditional use, a permission council grants after a public hearing and can attach conditions to (p. 2). When resident Angie Lutz asked where the industrial zone is, Mayor James Schlegel said it runs "from this location (Train Station) to Moyer Lumber" (minutes, p. 2).

The ordinance requires a 200-foot setback from any residential zoning district or a "sensitive receptor" such as a school, park or dormitory, a sound study at three stages, and a vibration study (pp. 2-4). Councilmember Derek Mace asked whether a closed-loop cooling system was a recommendation or a requirement; Solicitor Keith Mooney answered "that it is a requirement if on municipal water and it is all based on conditional use" (minutes, p. 2). The text says data centers "using public water, are required to use closed-loop cooling systems," and that all costs of producing the water and power a project needs are paid by the applicant, "with none of the costs, including increased service costs, being passed along to Borough residents or businesses" (ordinance, pp. 4-5, 7).

Every application must include a decommissioning plan with a bond and "a process for the review of decommissioning costs every 5 years" (pp. 7-8). Mace asked for an estimate of the bond; Mooney said it "would be based on the project and could increase every five years" (minutes, p. 2). A resident the minutes name as Matt Senseny (the attendance list has a Brent Senseny) asked whether decommissioning could be made retroactive; Mooney said it cannot (p. 2). Asked by Steve Curry whether a data center's water and electric use "is allowed," Mooney "replied that you cannot be exclusionary, so we can only put in rules and regulations about water" (p. 2). Judy Wildman asked whether any applications were pending "and was told that there are not" (p. 2). Violations of the water rules carry a fine of up to $1,000 a day (ordinance, p. 8).

Our data-center tracker lists every Berks municipality's status.

Short-term rentals: three commercial zones, 90 days elsewhere

Ordinance 3-2026 adds a short-term rental definition to the zoning code and permits the use, subject to the Chapter 180 permit, in the C-C Business Commercial Central, C-1 Business Commercial and C-3 Highway Commercial districts. In residential districts it is allowed only with a zoning application approved by the zoning officer, and "limited to a maximum of 90 cumulative days in a calendar year" (minutes, p. 4; ordinance, pp. 1-2). A short-term rental is a dwelling offered to a guest for a fee "for fewer than thirty consecutive nights" (ordinance, p. 1).

Lutz asked whether a rule already existed; Mooney said "this is the Ordinance and that there is no other one in place," and that unlike a bed and breakfast, a short-term rental "does not need to provide food or be occupied by the owner" (minutes, p. 3). Councilmember Lisa Ladd-Kidder said the ordinance had no definition of rooming house, and Mooney "agreed that it will need to be added" (pp. 3-4). The signed text the borough posted does include a rooming house definition (ordinance, p. 1).

The minutes then record a problem with the paperwork: "After some conversation about the draft not looking right, it was determined that although the wrong draft was in Council's packets, the correct version was on the Borough's website, was advertised, and was sent to the Berks County Planning Commission" (p. 4). The minutes record the same finding for the third ordinance (p. 5). The minutes do not say how the two drafts differed.

Ordinance 4-2026 creates Chapter 180, "STR Registration" (minutes, p. 5). Under the signed text, no owner may run a short-term rental without a permit and a zoning permit; owners already operating must apply within 60 days of adoption (p. 4). No permit will be issued for a dwelling with a Student Home License, or within 500 feet of an existing short-term rental in a residential district or the C-2 Commercial/Residential district (p. 4). Owners must carry $500,000 in liability insurance, provide two off-street parking spaces per unit, name a local agent within five miles, and keep a tenant log; the borough inspects at least yearly (pp. 5-8). Fees will be set by a later resolution (p. 8). Fines run $1,000 to $3,000 per violation, with each day counted separately (p. 10). Appeals go to the Housing License Appeals Board (p. 11), which the minutes list as having two member and three alternate vacancies (p. 5).

A new councilmember, over two no votes

Council interviewed Joel Seidel and Patricia Snyder for the Ward 1 vacancy; a third applicant, Seth Johnson, "was unable to attend the interview" (p. 1). Ladd-Kidder moved to appoint Snyder, Mace seconded, and the minutes record: "All in favor except for Mr. Kusterer and Mr. Seyler, who voted Nay. There being a majority in favor, the motion passed" (p. 1). The minutes print no numerical tally and no reason for the no votes; five council members are listed as present, so by that count the vote was 3-2. Schlegel administered the oath (p. 2). Snyder resigned from the Planning Commission effective Sept. 28, per the Oct. 20 agenda.

No per-capita bill in 2027

A per-capita tax is a flat tax charged per person the tax applies to, regardless of income or property. Resolution 6-2026 "authorize[s] the exoneration of all Per Capita Tax Bills, due and owing for the calendar year 2027," meaning the bills are forgiven. The reason, in the resolution: "the Kutztown Area School District has decided to no longer maintain the Per Capita Tax Bill database or distribute the bills," and "the Borough of Kutztown has declined to maintain" them itself (minutes, pp. 10-11; resolution). Neither document says how much revenue the borough gives up.

The new building: $728,648 paid, one change order denied

Council approved Payment Application No. 12 to Kinsley Construction for $728,648.21 for the Administration and Public Works building (pp. 8-9). It approved Change Order 31, $3,260.65, for swapping doors and adding ceilings; Change Order 33, which "gives the Borough a credit of $8,680.73" for ceiling, fire-door, window and partition changes; Change Order 34 for data and electrical work, with no amount printed; and Change Order 35, $6,760.33, for a boiler shutdown (pp. 7-8). Borough Manager Andrea Coaxum "noted that an emergency shutoff button was missed by the architect" (p. 8).

Council denied Change Order 36, $6,393.51, for multipurpose-room ductwork. Coaxum explained "the room was supposed to have an open ceiling, but the lighting and ductwork will not fit as designed. The suggestion was to rework the ductwork" (p. 8). Mace said Coaxum "jumped into a building project that is messy and not her fault, and we owe her a debt of gratitude" (p. 13).

Council also approved furniture proposals for $163,042.95 (p. 10); a TWG Security quote for door-access wiring and cameras, not to exceed $96,163.83 (p. 13); a second TWG quote for a security system, not to exceed $6,907.32; a PhillyCom network switch, not to exceed $7,415.00; and a TechniCom audio-visual invoice amended from $25,384.12 to not more than $23,947.28 after removing sales tax and adding a mixer, two wall-mounted TVs and relocated wiring (p. 12).

The bills kept coming. Our Oct. 20 preview covered Payment Application No. 13, $577,579.39, and Change Orders 37 through 42 on that agenda, which also requested an executive session "to discuss potential litigation of a Borough contractor." The borough has not posted minutes from Oct. 20, so those outcomes are not yet in the public record.

Money and other votes

Council ratified bills of $833,302.94 from the General Fund, $38,446.67 Refuse and Recycling, $51,755.75 Water, $1,295,877.81 Electric, $86,221.43 Sewer and $25,496.32 Telecommunications, for Aug. 15 through Sept. 11 (p. 6).

A minimum municipal obligation, or MMO, is the amount state law requires a municipality to pay into each pension plan next year, as calculated by the plan's actuary. Mace reported the 2027 MMO as $195,031 for the uniform (police) plan and $487,382 for the non-uniform plan (p. 12). Resolution 7-2026 requires each full-time officer to contribute 5 percent to the police pension fund in 2027 (p. 11).

Also unanimous: ratifying up to $20,000.00 for CMS to lower a water main at Maple and James streets "so the 2026 Paving and Storm Sewer Improvements Project is not further delayed" (p. 9); $6,465.00 to New Enterprise for 75 tons of infield mix for KYAA field maintenance (p. 9); waiving $254.00 in permit fees for a Kutztown Fairgrounds Association livestock building, "presented as a standalone, case-by-case accommodation" because the association's tax status does not fit a fee-waiver policy "currently under development" (p. 7); hiring Zachary Peace as a full-time office assistant pending background checks (p. 9); and reappointing Melissa Engelhardt to the Zoning Hearing Board through Oct. 1, 2029 (p. 10).

Council met in executive session "to discuss protection of public safety and security matters" from 8:35 to 9:06 p.m. (p. 8). The meeting ended at 9:26 p.m. (p. 13). Council next meets Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kutztown Train Station, 110 Railroad St., per the borough's 2026 meeting schedule.