Developer vows to push forward with data center after plans denied in Upper Merion board vote
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (WPVI) -- The battle over proposed data centers in Montgomery County remains in limbo after a vote by the Upper Merion Board of Supervisors on Thursday night.
The board didn't hold back Thursday night in front of a packed auditorium.
They say the applications to build a massive data center campus in King of Prussia lacked requested information like architectural plans, traffic impacts and clarification on engineering.
The board denied two extension requests that would have given developer Brian O'Neill additional time to advance the projects and several preliminary land development proposals tied to the project.
The project is known as the Renaissance Park and Innovation Data Center Campus.
It would total more than 4.5 million square feet, with several buildings -- mainly in King of Prussia -- to power artificial intelligence.
The complex is a larger footprint than the Philadelphia International Airport and the King of Prussia Mall, which is one of the largest in the country.
O'Neill said he isn't giving up and plans to appeal the decision.
"We are not resubmitting our plans. We never have. We have a plan filed, it's approved by their zoning officer and we're absolutely going to appeal to get that plan approved," O'Neill said.
The vote was viewed as a major victory by residents who have strongly opposed the proposed data centers.
READ MORE | Developer sues Upper Merion Twp. as court halts action on data center applications
The projects have drawn large crowds at public meetings and sparked concerns about noise, light pollution, water consumption and potential impacts on utility costs.
On Wednesday, O'Neill filed a lawsuit seeking an extension of the review process. A judge initially granted an injunction that temporarily halted further township action on the applications.
O'Neill argued there was not enough time to respond to concerns raised by township officials and that the projects could be denied before those responses were submitted.
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However, a judge vacated the injunction Thursday afternoon, allowing the Board of Supervisors meeting to proceed as scheduled.
The court said the township has been fair and legal in its review process.
"Denial of a plan does not equal a lack of fairness," one board member said Thursday night.
Township officials cited incomplete plans and repeated failures by the developer to address review comments in a timely manner, dating back to March in some cases. Those concerns were raised multiple times across the various applications.
"There's such a lack of specific information and detail on each of the proposed data centers," Upper Merion Township Supervisor Carole Kenney said.
"I am just shocked at the lack of information that was provided," another said.
"This was simple; this was a simple mission, your execution was not great," another board member said.
The extension denials don't kill the project, but the township will move forward based on the applications as currently submitted. Any future proposals could face additional scrutiny under the township's recently adopted data center ordinance.
This battle to build will now continue in court.
Action News was told roughly 20,000 people have signed a petition against the data center, which is the majority of the residents of Upper Merion Township.
