Tilden Township Data Center Vote Possible; Text Not Posted

Tilden Township supervisors hold a public hearing Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. on a zoning ordinance for data centers, and a vote could follow the same night. The agenda for the regular meeting at the township building, 874 Hex Highway, Hamburg, carries the line "*** RECESS *** - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HEARING - DATA CENTER ORDINANCE" (p. 1). A legal notice published in the Reading Eagle on Oct. 29, headed "PUBLIC HEARING AND ENACTMENT NOTICE," says the supervisors "will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, November 12, 2026 at 7:00 p.m., at the Tilden Township Building, 874 Hex Highway, Hamburg, Pennsylvania 19526," and the free excerpt ends mid-sentence a few words later. The agenda lists no separate adoption motion.

The text is not online. The township site's only data-center document is the one-page notice of the July 28 special meeting "for further discussion on the Ordinance for Data Centers." Paper copies exist: a resident told the Planning Commission in June she "filed a Right to Know and received one" (June 16 minutes, p. 2), and when the full text is not printed in the notice, state law says "An attested copy of the proposed ordinance shall be filed in the county law library" (MPC Section 610). The township office is closed Nov. 11 for Veterans Day (notice), so Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 610-562-7410 (contact page), is the last office window before the 7 p.m. hearing. Regular-meeting comment is three minutes, with name and address (agenda, p. 1).

Seven months of drafting, in the minutes

• April 21: Planning Commission Chairman Dale Keener "discussed about a proposed ordinance about data center zoning that Greg Haas provided" (minutes, p. 2). Haas is the township engineer.
• May 7: The supervisors discussed "drafting an ordinance" and said "there has not been any plans submitted for a data center" (workshop minutes, p. 1).
• May 13: The board voted 3-0 "to declare the Tilden Township Zoning Ordinance invalid as not providing for any types of Data Center use," then told Solicitor Joan London "to prepare a resolution in support of the curative amendment" and "a draft zoning ordinance amendment covering Data Centers" (minutes, pp. 2-3).
• June 10: The board adopted Resolution 2026-11, listed on the agenda as "declaring a Municipal Curative Amendment for Data Centers," 3-0, and sent "the sample Data Center Ordinance" to the Planning Commission (minutes, pp. 3-4). Under Section 609.2 of the state Municipalities Planning Code, a township that declares its zoning "substantively invalid" must enact the cure "Within 180 days from the date of the declaration and proposal," with a findings resolution due "Within 30 days following"; meanwhile it need not consider a landowner's own curative amendment on the same grounds. From the May 13 motion, the 180 days ran out Nov. 9; from the June 10 resolution, they run to Dec. 7.
• June 16: The commission's agenda had been posted late, so Keener said no official meeting could take place, but Haas "reviewed the 29-page data center ordinance briefly." Keener said data centers "Should be in the L2 Industrial Zone"; member Steven Werley said the height "should remain at 35'" and wanted farms treated as sensitive receptors (minutes, p. 1). The township's zoning map (Ordinance 216, 2014) labels L-2 as Industrial.
• June 23: Keener said "we have the180 day moratorium in place and nothing can happen within the 180-day period till an ordinance is put in place" (minutes, p. 1). Residents called the draft's 200-foot setbacks "not enough" and asked for 500 to 2,500 feet (pp. 1-2). The commission's list: farms as sensitive receptors, a 15- to 20-acre minimum lot, a 35-foot height, a setback in the "300-500' range," a 100-foot buffer, impervious cover cut from 75 to 60 percent, and the financial-security bond "changed to lifetime" (p. 2).
• July 8: With "Review Draft Data Center Ordinance" on the agenda, London explained "the ordinance process" and the board voted 3-0 to advertise "a Special Meeting with Engineer" (minutes, p. 2).
• July 21: The commission's agenda listed the draft as "Sample Ordinance – Draft July 3,2026 – KCE," with the county's "BCPC Planning Advise: Data Centers" in the packet. The commission voted 4-0 to recommend the board "adopt the revised data center ordinance," with Richard DeLong abstaining (minutes, p. 3). DeLong sits on the commission and chairs the Board of Supervisors (supervisors page).
• July 28: London "explained the Curative Amendment process." Supervisor Gene Schappell "was concerned that it was exclusionary." The height "is currently 35 feet including any equipment on the roof." The board raised the per-well financial security from $5,000 to "$10,000 per residential well and $50,000 for Township wells." London said the applicant pays for studies "as part of their burden of proof in the special exception proceedings," and "the final adoption could be on November 12, 2026" (minutes, pp. 1-2).
• Aug. 12: Resident Holly Keller said the county "is recommending the township to read a segment from the Northern Berks Joint Comprehensive Plan" and objected to a 35-foot limit "not including equipment on the roof" (p. 1). The board voted 3-0 to authorize London "to advertise the hearing and the adoption of the Data Center Ordinance" and to submit it to the county Planning Commission (minutes, p. 3).
• Aug. 18: Haas told the commission the 35 feet was "building height and whatever they want on top of the roof"; the commission voted 4-0, DeLong abstaining, for "a total maximum building height including mounted rooftop equipment for Data Centers to be 35'" (minutes, p. 4).
• Sept. 9: Keller "inquired why the Data Center Ordinance was not on the agenda"; no answer is recorded (minutes, p. 1).

Which numbers survived is not public, and one word matters as much as any figure: the July 28 minutes call the review a "special exception," which under Section 912.1 is decided by the Zoning Hearing Board, while a conditional use under Section 913.2 is decided by the supervisors. The county Planning Commission's advice sheet recommends the conditional-use route and offers as examples a 1,000-foot buffer from homes and a 55-decibel limit at the property line.

Two hearings, one night

Maidencreek Township hears its own data center ordinance at 6 p.m. Thursday; its posted 16-page draft sets a 1,000-foot setback and a 55 dB(A) limit; see our preview. Greenwich Township enacted its ordinance Nov. 2 with a 200-foot setback. The rest of the county is in our data center tracker.

Also on the agenda

The agenda notes "EXECUTIVE SESSIONS WERE HELD ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2026 AND THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2026 FOR PERSONNEL" (p. 1). Public participation lists "Duck Farm Steering Committee Update - Randy Saylor" and "Eron Stufflet – Formal Notice of Nonresponse," with no further detail.

The board approves minutes of Oct. 7 and the Oct. 27 budget meeting, and October bills: General Fund checks of $257,719.11 plus $52,921.54 in auto deductions and ACH; payroll of $46,693.62 plus $18,211.77 in taxes; Sewer Fund $89,615.95; Water System $18,069.38. Under "DEBT SERVICE" sits "HMA sewer expansion - $1,516,144.13" (pp. 1-2). The agenda does not spell out HMA.

Other items (pp. 2-3):

• Solicitor: "Discuss Proposed Well Ordinance Review from Keystone Consulting Engineers with possible action." On Sept. 9 the board sent London's sample well ordinance to Keystone with questions (Sept. 9 minutes, p. 3).
• Secretary: "Accept the resignation of Monica Flower as the Secretary/Treasurer effective October 30, 2026."
• Land development: a financial security agreement for the GSP Management lot consolidation, and reaffirming conditional final approval for Baidwan Holding LLC's maintenance facility at 229 Lowland Road "upon satisfaction of Review Letter #3 dated October 15, 2026."
• New business: "Discuss/approve the 2027 Preliminary Budget for advertising and open for inspection," then authorize the advertising. No budget document or tax figure is posted. Tilden's 2026 rate is 1.95 mills, per the county's tax-rate sheet. The last item is "Supervisor Gene Schappell's letter to the Board," subject not stated.

What happens next

Whether the curative-amendment clock ran out Nov. 9 or runs to Dec. 7 turns on which action counts as the "declaration and proposal" under Section 609.2; the township has not said. The agenda lists the Planning Commission on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m. (the commission's own Oct. 20 agenda said 7 p.m.), a supervisors' workshop Thursday, Dec. 3, at 3 p.m., and the regular meeting Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. (p. 3).