Philly suburb: Sure, build that data center—but first meet our 43 demands

Plymouth Township has helpfully published its entire list of requirements, which provides insight into what it has been hearing from residents and planners. The main concerns are power, water, pollution, and noise. To O’Neill, all of this looks like an attempt to keep him from making legal use of his land. He told the Inquirer this week that claims against him are a “bold-faced lie” [sic] and that he has already agreed to “the majority” of what the township wanted. “We are sympathetic to the fact that they are under tremendous political scrutiny from people outside the township, as well as residents inside the township, and that makes giving a landowner their property rights… challenging,” he told the paper. “However, I am a landowner, and I do have rights, and it is their job to be impartial and fair in their analysis and response.” O’Neill hopes to build six data centers across the area. Success may turn on whether these township demands are normal zoning conditions designed to protect residents—or so onerous that they amount to prohibition by another name.