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Withdrawn / Denied

East Coventry / Constellation Rezoning

East Coventry Township, Chester County

Constellation Energy Generation asked East Coventry to rewrite its zoning to allow data centers on five parcels it bought near Route 724; the Planning Commission voted 4-0 against it in December 2025 and Constellation withdrew the request before the supervisors voted.

Withdrawn / DeniedTBD/UndisclosedN/ASE
At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusWithdrawn
First announced2025-11-13

Constellation's data center zoning request in East Coventry, withdrawn after planners said no

The number that mattersConstellation told planners it bought the parcels 'for purposes of marketing them to potential users' and had no customer or end user; the Planning Commission chair noted the purchases were made under different names (minutes, November 13, 2025).
Developer
Constellation Energy Generation, owner of the nearby Limerick Clean Energy Center, which applied as a property owner. Attorney Stacey MacNeal presented the request.
Tenant
None. Constellation's attorney told the Planning Commission on November 13, 2025 that there were no proposed customers, development plan or end user, and that the company bought the land to market it to potential users.
Current stage
Withdrawn. The board chair announced on March 9, 2026 that Constellation had withdrawn its text amendment application, so the supervisors never voted. The Planning Commission has since been reworking zoning definitions, including the Light Industrial District.
Decision body
East Coventry Township Board of Supervisors, after Planning Commission review; zoning changes also go to the Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Planning Committee
Top issues
Whether East Coventry has to zone for data centers when the regional plan allows them in Douglass Township; water use and private wells; power use; noise; nearness to homes and an elementary school; emergency planning near the Limerick plant
Key opponents
Planning Commission chair Larry Tietjen; residents near New Schuylkill and Sanatoga roads; State Sen. Katie Muth; Food & Water Watch organizer Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, who spoke in November 2025
Key supporters
No one spoke in support at the December 11, 2025 Planning Commission meeting, according to the minutes. Constellation was the only proponent.

How we got here

Constellation's application (BOS-25-002) was first discussed by the Planning Commission on November 13, 2025. The commission voted 4-0 on December 11, 2025 to recommend that the supervisors deny it. The supervisors took legal advice on it in executive sessions on December 8, 2025, January 12 and February 9, 2026. On March 9, 2026 the chair announced Constellation had withdrawn the application.

What is at stake

Impacts raised and open questions

Energy costs and the grid

Medium

about 2M sq ft Constellation rezoning near Route 724 raised residents' grid/rate and rural-character concerns; withdrawn before the supervisors voted or detailed plans were filed.

Suburban Realtors Alliance / The Mercury

Water

Medium

At the November 13, 2025 Planning Commission meeting residents raised water consumption and well impacts, and the chair directed Constellation to bring information on water usage, electric usage and its proposed cooling system to the next meeting. Constellation didn't attend the December 11 meeting, according to the minutes.

East Coventry Township

Public safety

Low

State Sen. Katie Muth raised the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's 10-mile emergency planning zone around the Limerick plant and emergency response at the December 11, 2025 Planning Commission meeting, and a resident raised the site's proximity to an elementary school.

East Coventry Township
Timeline

How it has unfolded

  • 2025-11-13Constellation presents its data center text amendment; its attorney says there's no customer, development plan or end user. East Coventry Township
  • 2025-12-08Supervisors meet in executive session for legal advice on Constellation's data center text amendment. East Coventry Township
  • 2025-12-11The Planning Commission votes 4-0 to recommend denial after more than a dozen residents speak and no one speaks in support. East Coventry Township
  • 2026-02-09The board chair says the March 9 meeting will take up Constellation's application and the Planning Commission's recommendation. East Coventry Township
  • 2026-03-09The board chair announces Constellation has withdrawn its text amendment application and the item is pulled from the agenda. East Coventry Township
  • 2026-06-08The Planning Commission chair tells supervisors the commission is tightening zoning definitions and better defining the Light Industrial District. East Coventry Township
Legal record

Filings and legal actions

  • Petition for zoning text amendment (BOS-25-002) East Coventry Township Board of Supervisors · BOS-25-002

    Proposed data center code amendments for five parcels in the Limited Industrial and C-1 districts; the Planning Commission recommended denial 4-0 on December 11, 2025.

    Constellation Energy Generation (applicant) · Withdrawn by applicant (announced March 9, 2026)
News

Coverage of this project

Sources

Know your rights

In 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.

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Take action

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 →