Draft Data Center Ordinance – Please see the attached ordinance for review on next Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 6pm at the Township Building. (Jan 20th Agenda) (see next paragraph for more details of this meeting) The attached draft is a more detailed version of the Data Center ordinance that was advertised to the public in 2025, therefore, Tuesday will be a work session between the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission to merely clean up this version.
**Please view the informational documents provided and overview below**
A special meeting will be held on January 20, 2026 at 6:00 PM at the Township building. This will be a joint meeting with the Township Planning Commission as a workshop with the Solicitor for Data Center Ordinance Amendments. This is not a Public Hearing (like the meeting held at the fire hall) and instead is meant for the boards to give direction to the Solicitor to further the ordinance process within the Curative Amendment period. Once the amendments are complete, they will get sent to both EMT and York County Planning Commissions for review and comments. Then the ordinances will get advertised for a public hearing and depending on the path taken, could have land posted. Please note that at the November 11, 2025 Board of Supervisor meeting, the board took formal action to no longer include the Golf Course on Board Road. At the December 16, 2025 Special Meeting, the board took action to create an overlay district over the York Farmers Bank Property off of Gravel Hill Road (26-000-MI-0148.00-00000 and 26-000-MI-0148.A0-00000). Please know that the Township Meeting Room only holds a maximum capacity of 82 people and will therefore, need to shut the doors at capacity if needed due to fire safety. However, this meeting will be streamed live on YouTube for your viewing and will stay on YouTube for some time. There will be a public comment period of 30 minutes at 3 minutes a person. You may also send questions through our Concern Form on the website prior to the meeting. The Public Hearing that will come again with these amendments may be held at a much larger venue at a future date and time. Please watch the website for updates. In the meantime, please review the documents posted to educate yourself on the topic of Data Centers as it relates to East Manchester Township. If you have any questions, please email or call the Township. Thank you.
On October 21, 2025, at the continued Public Hearing located at the Fire Hall (and streamed live on YouTube), the Board of Supervisors, staff and Solicitor made an educational presentation regarding Data Centers, the rezoning, the legal requirements, and repercussions of no action. The Board also received feedback from Township Staff prior to the meeting that the golf course is a great concern of the public and therefore recommends removal of the golf course and a few smaller parcels. This was also discussed briefly at the October 14, 2025 public Board meeting. There is no map of this yet due to it being a recommendation from staff with individual positive feedback from each Board member to the Solicitor and Township Manager. The Board and staff listened to community comments and questions. Due to the amount of people at the meeting, the Board opted to not answer questions at that meeting in order to ensure everyone had an opportunity to speak. See the below questions and answers document. After public comments, the Board deliberated and decided to table both ordinances in order to make necessary changes and consider the public input. Additionally, the Board passed Curative Amendment Resolution No. 2025-14, which gives 180 days from the date of the public hearing to amend the ordinances and fix the defects within those ordinances. At this time, the Solicitor will begin making amendments based on public comments and model ordinances that will strengthen community protections. for the board to consider at an undetermined future meeting. These updates will address important factors such as water usage, electric capacity, and environmental safeguards. The amendments will also ensure that all applicable environmental agencies are involved in the review of any proposed data center project, along with other key requirements to help protect the health, safety, and quality of life of our residents. All changes will be reviewed by the Township Planning Commission and the York County Planning Commission at public meetings. Another public hearing will also be held prior to the adoption of a final ordinance. The public hearing will be advertised in accordance with the Municipalities Planning Code. Please note, however, that if the final ordinance does not involve a zoning map change (i.e., data centers are allowed in the Industrial district only), no notices will be mailed to property owners and no properties will be posted. The Township will continue to update the website for additional information. Please continue to check the website for meeting agenda items. Thank you.
Public Meeting Questions and Answers – From the October 21, 2025 Public Hearing. Thank you for being patient as there were so many questions from this meeting that the Township wanted to make sure they were all fully and correctly answered. Thank you.
PowerPoint from the Public Meeting – This PowerPoint was presented by Attorney Andrew Miller, Esq. at the October 21, 2025 Public Hearing.
Data Center Flyer – This flyer was created prior to the October 21, 2025 meeting and distributed at that meeting. This is an informational that includes an overview of questions, answers, and legalities.
PSTATS Video – Addresses staying ahead of new uses.