Municipal Monday, Issue 15. A weekly digest of regulatory and development activity from 32 Central Pennsylvania municipalities.
THE PATTERN: Four data center zoning items, four counties, three consecutive days, each at a different stage. North Londonderry Township in Lebanon County took up draft regulations August 17. Reading Township in Adams County took up setting a hearing date the same day. East Hanover Township in Dauphin County was set to hold its hearing August 18 and take up adoption of proposed Ordinance 2026-02, covering data centers and battery energy storage. East Pennsboro Township in Cumberland County had a motion to advertise Ordinance 864-2026 on August 19. As of Friday, August 21, none of the four was confirmed adopted.
All four sat inside the same three days the Governor signed Executive Order 2026-05, which we covered in a separate post. What each of these townships writes is now the gate on a DEP permit.
East Pennsboro’s draft is the one to read. It creates a new zoning district, the ANX Annex, allows data centers only by conditional use, tiers them at one, five and ten acre minimum lots, and sets residential setbacks of 100 to 150 feet and 200 from water. Its definition excludes cryptocurrency mining and server farms, so what the use gets called matters.
ON THE BOARDS: South Middleton Township’s August 20 Planning Commission agenda carried seven items, six with a stated acreage totaling 608.77. The two largest: Connector Road at 256.8 acres, a final subdivision whose clock runs to September 30, and the 1235 Walnut Bottom Road master plan at 124.17 acres. Five of the seven were listed to be tabled. Five street dedication resolutions also came up, two in Lower Paxton and three in Reading.
LONG HORIZON: Four municipalities have districts or plans in rewrite. East Pennsboro is drawing a new district onto its zoning map. East Hanover is moving its zoning ordinance, zoning map and land development ordinance together, with agritourism and short-term rental amendments alongside. A separate resolution would add 224.5 acres to its Agricultural Security Area. Camp Hill has a comprehensive plan RFP and downtown LERTA in progress. And Middlesex Township’s agenda lists a Cumberland County application to allow principal solar energy systems by conditional use in its Institutional Districts, ahead of an October 7 hearing.
COST TO WATCH: West Hanover Township’s August 20 agenda carried three financial security adjustments totaling $1,200,167: $1,191,130 on Mayberry Phase 3 and 4, leaving $499,693, plus $7,226 at 607 Walnut Avenue and $1,811 at 7308 Sandy Hollow Road. All three appear as amounts reviewed by the township engineer. No minutes are posted and no outcome is confirmed.
If you hold ground in these townships, especially where a new district or a review deadline touches your site, we can tell you what it means.
Municipal Monday runs weekly. Next issue: 8/31.