It’s been a little while since our last update, so thanks for your patience! We hope everyone made it out today to vote in your local elections earlier today.

Before we get into updates, take a minute to mark your calendar: The Young Stewards of Cumberland County are hosting an informational event about data centers and their impact on communities on Tuesday, November 18 from 6:00 – 8:30 PM at Middlesex United Methodist Church. They aim to support residents and local leaders alike in making informed, protective decisions for the community’s future.

There’s a lot to catch up on across Middlesex, Southampton, and North Middleton Townships, so let’s get into it!

Middlesex Township – Project Bolt starts water allocation conversations; extends review period for preliminary plans

Project Bolt developers informally requested an allocation of 400,000 gallons per day of water from the Middlesex Township Municipal Authority (MTMA) at their meeting on October 16. The MTMA stated they currently have roughly 900,000 gallons per day of excess capacity.

• Previously, we were told that the developers planned to design the data center’s specifications based on whatever capacity MTMA could provide.
• The MTMA has been working to bring an additional well online (a project unrelated to Project Bolt), and developers may seek additional capacity once that happens.
• Next steps: No official action was taken at the October meeting, but a decision is expected at the November 20 MTMA meeting. Watch for the agenda here.
• Read PennLive’s in-depth coverage of the MTMA meeting here.

Community member Dave K. obtained a correspondence between MTMA and Carlisle Development Partners via a Right-to-Know request and kindly shared it via Facebook. Click the link to download and read.

At the October 31 Board of Supervisors Workshop Meeting, the BOS voted to extend the review period for both the Preliminary Subdivision Plan and Preliminary Land Development Plan for Project Bolt until February 4, 2026.

The Middlesex Township Planning Commission meeting scheduled for October 27 was canceled; the next meeting is scheduled for November 10.

Southampton Township – Zoning hearing halted

At the October 28 Southampton Township Board of Supervisors meeting, advocates and residents successfully stopped a hearing on a proposed data center-related zoning map amendment due to procedural and legal violations. The proposal originated from a resident who sought to rezone both his own property and several neighboring parcels.

Because not all affected property owners signed on, as well as various procedural issues on the part of the property owner and the township (see below), the application cannot proceed in its current form. If the applicant wishes to continue, they must submit a new application, restarting the full township review process.

• The amendment would have added 129 acres to the existing Data Center Overlay District (created July 28, 2025, by Ordinance No. 2025-2). View the existing Data Center Overlay section of Southampton’s code here.
• Click here for FOX43’s coverage of the meeting.
• Click here to read Tri-State Alert’s coverage of the meeting.

Ginny Marcille-Kerslake of Food & Water Watch (who also spoke at the first Middlesex Township meeting on data centers earlier this year) raised multiple issues related to compliance with the Sunshine Act and Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code (MPC), which she kindly posted on Facebook afterward, for clarity and reference.

Expand for specific violations and administrative issues

• Sunshine Act: The hearing agenda was not posted on the township website or on the building at least 24 hours in advance.

• Zoning Ordinance & MPC Section 609: The application was sent to the County Planning Commission on October 6, less than 30 days before the public hearing.

• MPC Section 610:
  • Only one small sign was posted—at 54 Airport Road, the applicant’s property—and it faced the road rather than being easily visible to surrounding areas.
  • Public notices and letters to neighboring property owners did not specify where to obtain a copy of the proposed map amendment.
• Public notices referred only to the Collingworth property at 54 Airport Road (65 acres) rather than the full 129 acres proposed.
• Letters dated September 29, 2025 sent to adjacent property owners, including those whose land would also be rezoned, only mentioned 54 Airport Road.
• The application submitted to the County was missing signatures from three property owners—a total of roughly 28 acres.

North Middleton Township – Ordinance adopted

Township supervisors voted to adopt an ordinance amending the township zoning code to include provisions for Data Centers at the October 16 meeting.

Ordinance details:

• Data centers are allowed as a conditional use in the Industrial (IND) and Commercial/Light Industrial (CL/I) zones. This means that any future proposal for a data center will require a public hearing and township approval under the conditional-use process. Rural and Agricultural Zones remain protected from data center development.
• The ordinance specifies a 100 ft setback from residential zones; many residents have expressed interest in seeing this requirement strengthened.
• Notable Locations: The CL/I zone includes the Cumberland County Fairgrounds property. There is no current application for a data center there, but the ordinance technically permits it if an appropriate proposal were made.

Supervisor and Planning Commission Member Bradley Mitchell shared clarifying comments on Facebook regarding the intent and implications of the ordinance. The board’s goal, he said, was to proactively protect Rural Resource and Agricultural zones by limiting data centers to Industrial and Commercial/Light Industrial areas. He also pointed out that the ordinance can be amended at any time.

Full text of North Middleton’s Data Center Ordinance (PDF)
We do not see the ordinance updated on North Middleton’s eCode library yet.

October 5, 2025

This week, there are no updates to share. But, we encourage you to keep an eye out for the following upcoming meetings’ agendas and show up when Project Bolt is on the agenda.

• Middlesex (agendas here):
  • Planning Commission: Workshop Meeting, Oct 13 & Regular Meeting, Oct 27
  • Board of Supervisors: Workshop Meeting, Oct 27 &Regular Meeting, Nov 5
• North Middleton (agendas here):
  • Board of Supervisors: Regular Meeting, Oct 16 NOTE: This meeting will be a public hearing for the BoS to take public comment on a proposed amendment to the North Middleton Township Zoning Ordinance related to Data Centers. Read the draft amendment here.
  • Planning Commission: Regular Meeting, Oct 21
• South Middleton (agendas here):
  • Board of Supervisors: Regular Meeting, Oct 9
  • Planning Commission: Regular Meeting, Oct 16
• Hampden (agendas here):
  • Board of Commissioners: Regular Meeting, Oct 30
  • Planning Commision: Regular Meeting, Oct 9
• Silver Spring (agendas here):
  • Board of Supervisors: Regular Meeting, Oct 22
  • Planning Commision: Regular Meeting, Nov 6

Calls to Action:

• The Cumberland County Survey is available here. Let Cumberland County leadership know that you are NOT confident in Cumberland County’s future if it includes Data Centers.

• The survey for Team PA’s 10-year EDC/AI Roadmap is still available here. Let Team PA know how you feel about the development of data centers in PA.

September 26, 2025

This week, we saw multiple municipalities reviewing their zoning ordinances related to the proposed data center along with progress being made on the proposed PPL Substation.

Middlesex Township

Sept 22 – Planning Commission Meeting

• The Planning Commission took a trip to a data center campus in Loudon County, VA with Powerhouse as their host last week. You can read a writeup by Larry Claycomb below. Barb Gleim also covered it in her Barb Wire.
  
• The New Substation Laydown was recommended to the Board of Supervisors for approval
  
• Previous representatives of Data Center Partners, Justin Ross and Andrew who had been at previous meetings were not present.
  
• A new substation is, ultimately, necessary for overall grid reliability on our already stressed grid. However, it also indicates the start of real buildout for building the data center. PCCPA will be posting information on how these two projects are related soon.

Sept 26 – Board of Supervisors Meeting

• The Middlesex Board of Supervisors approved the laydown with 9 waivers for the PPL Substation. There was no public comment specific to this issue.

CALLS TO ACTION:

• The survey for Team PA’s 10-year EDC/AI Roadmap is still available here. Let Team PA know how you feel about the development of data centers in PA.
  
• Keep an eye on the agendas for the Middlesex BOS meeting on October 1 and North Middleton BOS meeting on October 2 to show up if data centers are up for discussion.
  
• Continue to watch for the North Middleton draft ordinance posting and October or November hearing announcement.
  
  Larry Claycomb’s write-up:

This past week saw movement around the PPL laydown portion of Project Bolt (Middlesex) as well as progression for North Middleton Township’s draft ordinance. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the Hampden Township Data Center Ordinance hearing on Sept 25!

North Middleton Township

• Planning Commission (Sept 16): The North Middleton Township Planning Commission (PC) advanced its draft data center ordinance, moving it toward Board of Supervisors (BOS) review and public hearing in October. The draft is expected to be published online in the coming weeks, provided the BOS votes to advertise it. Some known aspects of the unpublished ordinance:
  • Data centers allowed as conditional uses in Industrial and Light Industrial/Commercial zones only (e.g., warehouse district off Newville Rd. and the Carlisle Fairgrounds, were they to sell).
  • Requirements include: traffic/water studies, emergency planning, noise/vibration limits, stricter setbacks/buffering than warehouses, building design standards, and EMR/volume limits at property lines. Revisions have been made since August based on feedback from residents.
  • PC members voiced urgency: without an ordinance, rural and ag zones remain vulnerable.
• Board of Supervisors (Sept 18): Board of Supervisors voted to send the draft ordinance to the county for review, hoping for swift feedback. They may reschedule the next PC meeting to October 14, aiming to advertise changes for BOS approval in November. Keep watch for official advertising of the draft ordinance; it is likely that the public hearing and vote for this ordinance will occur at the October or November BOS meeting. The draft ordinance must be published in advance.

Middlesex Township

• Municipal Authority (Sept 18): Representatives from PA Data Center Partners (including engineer Justin Ross and attorney Charles Courtney) appeared before the MTMA.
  • Developers anticipate Building 1 online by June 2027 with others soon after, aiming for 5–6 by summer 2028.
  • Ross emphasized: “The more water the better.” The developers are looking to the municipal authority for an indication of how much water they can allocate prior to making decisions about cooling systems and water usage (per questions asked at Sept 9 developer info session). According to Ross, water use would primarily be for summer cooling, with some on-site storage.
  • Critical gap: Developers have not disclosed projected water requirements for the full 18-building plan.
  • Well No. 2 remains under permitting review.
• Board of Supervisors (Sept 26): BOS will likely approve the PPL substation laydown site at their meeting Friday, Sept 26, 7:30 a.m. Attendance encouraged, though timing is difficult.

Hampden Township

• Resident John Matthew Smith, who plans to run for Commissioner in Hampden Township this Fall, is encouraging residents to review his alternative-version draft ordinance and and attend the Board of Commissioners meeting on Sept 25, 7:30 p.m. (209 S. Sporting Hill Rd, Mechanicsburg). He invites residents who like his proposed ordinance to share it during the Hearing. (Join our Facebook Group to see the related document and post.)
• The existing draft ordinance would allow data centers as a conditional use in office parks near neighborhoods. Residents should urge commissioners to vote NO on the existing proposed ordinance.

Legislative – Team Pennsylvania

• Team PA, a statewide public–private partnership co-chaired by the Governor, released a 10-year “EDC/AI Roadmap” positioning AI as part of Pennsylvania’s strategic energy/economic goals.
• Action: Click the “Survey” tab to share opposition to this pro–data center/AI framing.

Petition Updates

• Hampden Township petition against office park data centers: 200+ signatures.
• Middlesex Township petition to stop the project: nearly 300 signatures.

Calls to Action

• Attend: Hampden Township hearing, Sept 25 at 7:30 p.m. – urge Commissioners to vote NO.
• Attend (if possible): Middlesex BOS, Sept 26 at 7:30 a.m. – oppose PPL substation laydown.
• Sign: Ongoing petitions for both Hampden and Middlesex.
• Review & Comment: Team PA roadmap and related feedback survey.
• Stay Alert: Watch for North Middleton draft ordinance posting and October or November hearing announcement.

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Thanks to Dave Kerr and Susannah for their notes and takeaways from meetings this week, which informed the writing of parts of this summary.

• Project Bolt (Middlesex) developers held an open house-style event for the project September 9 at the Barn at Creek’s Bend/Sports Emporium.
  • Representatives from PA Data Center Partners, including the CEO, engineers from Livic (the company doing the site design), and representatives from the Municipal Authority and PPL were present.
  • Despite the array of knowledge present, the community did not receive many new answers or clarity on sweeping statements that have been made about this project.
  • PennLive covered the event in-depth: Residents ask questions, get few answers on Cumberland County data center plan

• Hampden Township’s proposed data center ordinance was updated on the township website.
  • The ordinance now contains additional evaluation criteria and has changed from being “permitted” in office parks to “conditional” in office parks.
  • Regardless, this industrial use should not be allowed in the Office Park district, which is surrounded by neighborhoods. It should be zoned as “conditional use” in the Industrial district only. Residents need to tell Township Commissioners to vote NO on September 25.
  • Sign the petition to stop data centers in the Office Park district.
  • Show up at the Hampden Township Board of Commissioners Meeting on September 25 at 7:30 p.m. to participate in the public hearing on this topic and make your voice heard. (Location: 209 S. Sporting Hill Road, Mechanicsburg, PA  17050)
• Update on our petitions:
  • Our Middlesex Township petition to stop the data center has 255 digital signatures as of this posting, and more on paper.
  • Our Hampden Township petition to stop data centers in the office park district has 139 signatures as of this posting.

Mark your calendar:

• Not this week, but CRITICAL: Hampden Township Commissioners are holding a public hearing on September 25th, 7:30pm on a zoning ordinance amendment to allow data centers in the Office Park district – within just 200 feet of homes and 100 feet of property lines. Show up and ask your commissioners to vote NO.
• Middlesex Township’s Municipal Authority meeting is September 18 at 7:00 p.m. No agenda is uploaded as of this post.
• North Middleton Township’s Planning Commission will have further discussion on their work-in-progress Data Center Ordinance at their meeting on Tuesday, September 16 at 6:00 p.m. North Middleton’s Board of Supervisors will meet two days later on Thursday, September 18; there is no agenda posted for the BOS meeting yet.