Packed Upper Merion meeting highlights deep divide over proposed data center campus

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (WPVI) -- A proposed data center campus in Montgomery County drew intense opposition and vocal support during a packed Upper Merion Township Planning Commission meeting Wednesday night, underscoring a growing divide among residents over the large-scale development.

Fire officials and about a half dozen police officers were present as the meeting reached standing-room-only capacity, with overflow rooms and the township lobby filled as residents waited to speak.

"Ideally, scrap them; they don't belong right in the middle of Upper Merion," said Patti Erickson of Upper Merion Against Data Centers.

The proposal, known as the "Renaissance Park and Innovation Data Center Campus," would place five data center sites in the same area of King of Prussia and total more than 4.5 million square feet, according to information presented at the meeting.

Residents repeatedly raised concerns about the quality of life and neighborhood impact.

"I don't want my daughter to grow up in a neighborhood where her backyard is a giant data center," said Kaitlin Hartung, an Upper Merion Township resident.

Erickson warned that "something like this can be very detrimental to the community around it."

Developer Brian O'Neill of MLP Ventures addressed the crowd directly, speaking amid frequent interruptions and outbursts.

"I respect your perspective, even if it is the opposite of what we're trying to accomplish," O'Neill told the crowd.

He said the project would limit light pollution, include air-quality mitigation measures, generate its own power, increase township tax revenue by 54%, and create jobs.

"This data center, by the way, will create 10 times the jobs of the development of the Comcast tower," he said.

Labor leaders in attendance voiced support for the project and the construction jobs it would bring, and pushed back on concerns about energy use.

"The energy consumption, they think it's happening directly in their neighborhood, when the PGM network consists of 13 states. So it's not happening here directly. It's happening to the whole network," said Orville Robinson of Steamfitters Local 420.

In March, Upper Merion Township supervisors passed a new ordinance tightening regulations on data centers, addressing noise, energy and water use, building size and height, zoning, and required buffers. However, the application for this project was submitted just before those new rules took effect and must be reviewed under the previous guidelines.

Developers said, though, they are willing to make concessions.

"We are endeavoring in many respects, where possible, to meet the requirements that the new ordinance has set forth," said Edmund Campbell of Campbell Rocco Law.

The planning commission took no action Wednesday night, and it remains unclear when it may make a recommendation to the board of supervisors.