Kutztown to Vote on Data Center, Short-Term Rentals

Kutztown Borough Council plans to hold public hearings and then vote to adopt three new zoning ordinances at its meeting Tuesday, September 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the Kutztown Train Station, 110 Railroad Street. Two of the ordinances set the borough's first rules for short-term rentals; the third sets its first rules for data centers.

Zoning is the local law that decides what can be built where, so both sets of rules affect property owners, renters, and neighbors across the borough. The council also plans to fill a vacant council seat the same night.

What the data center ordinance does

A data center is a large building full of computer servers that store and run online services. The biggest ones draw heavy electricity and water and run cooling equipment that can be noisy, which is why where they are allowed has become a flashpoint across Berks County.

According to the agenda, the council will hold a public hearing and then vote to enact an ordinance amending Chapter 225 of the borough code, its zoning ordinance, "to provide definitions and specific requirements for Data Centers and Data Center accessory uses." An accessory use is a smaller, related use on the same property, such as the equipment or structures that support the main building.

The agenda names the subject but not the details. It does not say which zoning districts would allow a data center, whether one would be permitted outright or only with extra conditions, or what limits the rules place on things like setbacks from property lines or noise. The full ordinance text is not attached to the agenda. Residents can ask the borough office for a copy or hear it presented at the hearing before the vote.

New rules for short-term rentals

A short-term rental is a home or room rented to guests for short stays, the kind listed on sites like Airbnb and Vrbo. Kutztown, home to Kutztown University, currently has no borough rules defining them.

The council will take up two ordinances on this. The first amends the zoning ordinance, Chapter 225, to add a definition of "short-term rental" and to allow short-term rentals in several zoning districts. The second creates a new Chapter 180, "STR Registration," which the agenda says would require an operating license and an occupancy permit to run a short-term rental and set penalties for owners who do not comply. As with the data center rules, the agenda does not list the fees or the specific requirements; those are in the ordinance text, which is not posted online.

A council seat and other business

Before the hearings, the council will interview two applicants for a vacant Ward 1 council seat, Joel Seidel and Patricia Snyder, then appoint one, swear the person in, and record an affidavit of residency. Both applicants currently serve on the borough Planning Commission. It is one of several unfilled borough board and commission seats the agenda lists, including five member vacancies on the Code Appeals Board.

The agenda also carries the running costs of the borough's new Administration and Public Works building. Council will vote on Payment Application No. 12 to Kinsley Construction for $728,648.21, several change orders, and separate contracts for the building's furniture, network switch, security system, audio-visual equipment, and door-access wiring and cameras (the last not to exceed $96,163.83). On finances, the council will consider a resolution setting a 5 percent pension contribution rate for full-time police officers in 2027; the agenda lists the borough's 2027 minimum pension obligation as $195,031 for the uniform plan and $487,382 for the non-uniform plan. Public works items include lowering a water main at Maple and James streets, at a cost not to exceed $20,000, to keep the 2026 paving and storm sewer project on schedule.

Kutztown joins a countywide push

Kutztown is the latest Berks municipality to write data-center rules as developers scout the region for sites. Most of the activity has been in industrial townships: Windsor Township adopted its own data-center ordinance in August, Perry Township voted on rules September 8, and Upper Bern Township took up data-center and solar rules September 10. A borough writing its own rules, ahead of any known project, shows how widely the issue has spread. Our Berks County data-center tracker lists where every project and ordinance stands.

How to weigh in

• The meeting is 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Kutztown Train Station, 110 Railroad Street. Each of the three ordinances gets its own public hearing before the vote, and the council takes public comment on agenda items as it reaches them.
• To read the full text of any ordinance before the vote, contact the borough office at 45 Railroad Street, 610-683-6131, or attend the hearing.
• This is the borough's second appearance in our coverage; Kutztown is one of the county's smaller governments and one we watch closely.
• For what a borough controls versus the county and the state, see how Berks County government works; to track your own local meetings, see our guide to township and borough meeting schedules.

Berks Beat will report the outcome once the borough adopts the ordinances or posts the vote.