Blakely Borough, Lackawanna County
A 209-acre, four-building data center campus in Blakely Borough, Lackawanna County, proposed by developers Jim Marzolino and Alpesh Patel, with four buildings of roughly 150,000 sq ft each standing about 70 feet tall. Residents organized in local forums and gathered more than 1,800 petition signatures.
A 209-acre, four-building data center campus in Blakely Borough, Lackawanna County, proposed by developers Jim Marzolino and Alpesh Patel, with four buildings of roughly 150,000 sq ft each standing about 70 feet tall. Residents organized in local forums and gathered more than 1,800 petition signatures. A zoning hearing set for late August 2025 was canceled, and the developers withdrew after the borough declined their request for an additional informational meeting.
Tactics: Change.org petition exceeding 1,800 signatures, organizing in local forums, meetings and visible protests, pressure on borough leaders not to grant an additional developer forum
One of Pennsylvania’s clearest early wins. Borough leaders declined the developers’ request for another informational meeting, the late-August zoning hearing was canceled, and the developers withdrew.
In Pennsylvania, a data center on industrial land usually needs a special exception or conditional use, decided by a local Zoning Hearing Board after a public, quasi-judicial hearing. Neighbors can request party status, cross-examine witnesses, and build an evidentiary record. Municipalities can also write data-center ordinances with enforceable standards.
Know your rights →Organized community opposition is the single most effective check on these projects in Pennsylvania. Show up to hearings, submit comment when it is taken, support legal and expert-witness costs, and ask your municipality for a moratorium and a real ordinance.
How communities push back →