Dorrance Township, Luzerne County
Brewster Land Company LLC argued that Dorrance Township's zoning unlawfully shut out data centers so it could seek approval for six data center buildings on 155 acres along South Main Road, and the Zoning Hearing Board unanimously turned the challenge down in May 2026.
A CBRE consultant pitched data center zoning to supervisors on June 9, 2025, and residents protested at a July 14, 2025 meeting. Supervisors adopted a data center ordinance on September 22, 2025 that allows data centers only as conditional uses in the I-1 Industrial District. Brewster Land Company LLC filed a substantive validity challenge, with hearings that began in October 2025 and continued on March 30, 2026 at the fire hall. On May 6, 2026 the Zoning Hearing Board voted unanimously that the ordinance doesn't unlawfully exclude data centers.
The township ordinance caps data center noise at the property line at 50 dBA averaged over any 24 hours, with maximums of 65 dBA from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and 55 dBA overnight, measured with leaves off the trees and verified by an as-built noise study.
Dorrance TownshipApplicants must submit a water feasibility study covering every well within 3,000 feet of the property, and no data center can be approved without enough water or if it would harm nearby wells. The ordinance also sets a minimum $5 million bond.
Dorrance TownshipThe ordinance requires 250-foot setbacks for data center buildings, 300 feet for substations, a 50-foot planted buffer on every property line, downward-shielded lighting, and possible undergrounding of new power lines.
Dorrance TownshipTactics: about 100 residents packed the Dorrance Township Fire Hall across two hearings; applauded the unanimous denial of the validity challenge
Opposed Brewster Land Company's exclusionary-zoning challenge (P047); the Zoning Hearing Board found the ordinance does not unlawfully exclude data centers.
Possible appeal of the Zoning Hearing Board's denial of Brewster's challenge to Dorrance Township's zoning.
Brewster Land Company LLC · Not confirmed. Brewster's attorney said the company would continue its appeal, but no court filing was found.Challenge argued the 2007/2025 zoning ordinance unlawfully excludes data centers; sought site-specific relief for 6 buildings on a 155-ac B-2 parcel. Board found no unlawful exclusion; appeal to Luzerne CCP possible.
Brewster Land Company LLC v. Dorrance Township · Denied unanimously May 6 2026Zoning amendment defining data centers, data center campuses and substations and allowing them only by conditional use in the I-1 Industrial District, with setbacks, buffers, noise limits, water studies, a bond, generator rules and an emergency response plan.
Dorrance Township · AdoptedIn Pennsylvania, the local zoning ordinance sets the route. A conditional use is decided by the elected governing body (supervisors, commissioners or council). A special exception or variance, and an appeal of a zoning officer’s decision, go to the Zoning Hearing Board. Each is a public hearing on a record: affected neighbors can ask for party status, cross-examine witnesses, and appeal. Municipalities can also adopt 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 press your municipality for a real ordinance. Pennsylvania municipalities cannot simply freeze applications, but a curative amendment under the Planning Code gives them a defined window to fix a defective ordinance.
How communities push back →