South Heidelberg Weighs Data Centers in Industrial Zone

South Heidelberg Township is set to decide Tuesday whether to write data centers into its zoning rules, adding the large computer-server buildings to the list of uses allowed in one of its industrial districts. A data center is a building full of computer servers that store and handle data for the internet, businesses, and artificial intelligence; the biggest ones use large amounts of electricity and water.

The township's Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, at the Township Building, 555A Mountain Home Road, Sinking Spring, and vote on the change at the regular meeting right after, according to the meeting agenda.

What the ordinance would do

The measure, Ordinance 296, amends the Southwestern Berks County Zoning Ordinance of 2004. Per the agenda, it defines "data center" and related terms, including "data center equipment," "data center accessory uses," "truck terminal," and "warehouse/logistics," and it establishes the data center use in the township's I3 industrial district. The township is putting a definition on the books for a use its 2004 code did not name, and deciding where that use can go.

A zoning code three towns share

The Southwestern Berks ordinance is not South Heidelberg's alone. It is a joint zoning code shared by three municipalities: Lower Heidelberg Township, South Heidelberg Township, and Wernersville Borough, according to the Berks County Planning Commission's multi-municipal planning page. South Heidelberg's Board of Supervisors is the body holding Tuesday's hearing and vote. The posted agenda, which labels the measure a joint zoning amendment, does not spell out whether the new data-center rule would apply only in South Heidelberg or would take effect across the shared code once the other two towns act. We will confirm the reach of the change when the adopted ordinance is available.

What is not yet public

The full text of Ordinance 296 was not attached to the posted agenda, and the township has not published it online. That means the details that matter most to neighbors are not yet on the record: how large a lot a data center would need, how far it would sit from homes, whether it would face limits on noise, height, or lighting, and whether it could be built as of right or only with extra review and conditions. The township must make the full text available for public inspection before the vote, so residents can request it from the township office. We will report the specifics once the adopted ordinance is available.

Why a small township is drawing up data-center rules

South Heidelberg is one of a growing number of Berks County communities writing zoning for data centers, often before a specific project arrives, so the rules are set in advance rather than during a fight over one application. We tracked the earlier wave in reports on five towns that moved first and six more townships that followed, and covered the county's first adopted wave-three ordinance in Windsor Township.

The township's industrial land has already drawn heavy interest. Developers have proposed large warehouses along Krick Lane, including two Ethos Development buildings, one of them more than a million square feet, as detailed in our report on the Ethos warehouse plans. No data-center project has been publicly proposed in the township; the visible development so far is warehousing. For how zoning splits between the county, the state, and your municipality, see our guide to how Berks County government works.

Also on the agenda

The same meeting takes up several routine items: releasing the last $57,833 in escrow held for the SG America project, paying Martin Paving $20,273.85 for an oil-and-chip repaving of part of Old West Penn Avenue, re-affirming an approved plan for a lot in the township industrial park after SuperQuartz LLC bought it, two human-resources appointments, and a possible move to suspend the township's towing-contract vendor.

How to weigh in

The public hearing on the data-center change is open to residents. The Board of Supervisors meets at the Township Building, 555A Mountain Home Road, Sinking Spring. Residents who want to comment must attend in person and sign in on arrival. For help finding and following your own township or borough meetings, see our guide to township and borough meeting schedules.