Granville Township, Mifflin County
Lewistown Development LLC, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania Data Center Partners, wants six two-story data center buildings with about 1.54 million square feet of building area on farmland off Loop Road in Granville Township. The township returned the application as incomplete, and the developer's appeal returns to the Zoning Hearing Board on October 26.
April 15, 2026: utility meeting with the municipal authority and project consultants, without the supervisors' knowledge. Mid-May: first public reports; county commissioners call for a public forum; a Change.org petition starts May 17. June 1: about 200 residents attend; the developer's presentation is shown and a petition with 4,274 signatures is presented. June 11: about 300 attend a draft ordinance review. June 22: NDCMC founded. July 10: application filed. July 12: at the emergency meeting, the board chairman and solicitor tell attendees its purpose is moot because the application was filed first; residents ask why the township did not pursue a curative amendment in May. July 15: Ordinance 2026-02 adopted. July 16: application returned as incomplete. July 21: MCIDC says it has taken no side and conveyed no easements. August 13: appeals filed with the Zoning Hearing Board and the Court of Common Pleas. September 17: the board chairman resigns and the board loses its quorum; the court appoints Earl Weaver Jr. on September 23. September 28: Ordinance 2026-03 adopted, replacing 2026-02. October 1: the zoning board opens the appeal hearing and continues it to October 26 at a larger venue. October 11: abc27 reports the supervisors' November 9 and December 14 meetings will be held at 6 p.m. at the event center.
No posted document states how much water the project would use. The Mifflin County Municipal Authority said in June it did not know the facility's requirements; it has treatment capacity of about 6 million gallons a day and was producing about 2.8 million. Its director offered a hypothetical: "If they come in and say they need 3 million gallons of water a day, we can't do it." Many nearby residents rely on private wells.
Lewistown SentinelStandard Steel, whose arc furnace in Burnham depends on stable voltage, told county officials that the county's power infrastructure cannot support a hyperscale load and that Penelec confirmed it will not guarantee the company's incoming voltage if a data center is built. The company says PJM rules could spread grid upgrade costs across utility customers. No posted document states the project's power demand.
Lewistown SentinelThe application covers 264.21 acres of farmland across three parcels; the plan's cover sheet describes a roughly 245-acre development, with no disturbance proposed on a Commercial Highway remnant. Six buildings up to 66 feet tall, with a substation on land zoned Residential Agricultural.
LIVIC Civil for Lewistown Development LLC (posted by Granville Township)Ordinance 2026-03 limits nighttime noise, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., to 45 dB(A) and 55 dB(C) at property lines with sensitive receptors, with provisions for places where ambient noise already exceeds the limits. At the August 19 meeting the township engineer estimated about 17 decibels at the nearest pool; residents disputed the estimate and cited low-frequency hum. The developer's appeal asks for review under the earlier ordinance.
Granville TownshipThe traffic study projects 1,118 vehicle trips a day at full build-out, counting entering and exiting trips, above the township's 750-trip threshold for major traffic impact review, with access from Loop Road and Middle Road.
LIVIC Civil (posted by Granville Township)Residents raised sinkholes and limestone soils under the proposed stormwater basins, and a resident asked the township's engineers to study the karst topography. At the August 19 meeting the township engineer said DEP studies show no karst deposits on the site.
Granville TownshipProperty values are a resident concern. At the August 19 meeting a resident who had spoken with an appraiser about Virginia asked what residents should do if their homes lost half their value. No site-specific appraisal or study has been published.
Granville TownshipLeaders: Co-chairs Nate Fischer and Tisha Schwanger; attorney Bill Cluck
Tactics: Weekly organizing meetings in Lewistown, turnout at township, county and zoning board meetings, legal representation at the Zoning Hearing Board, a protest on the Lewistown square, tabling at community events, a pin fundraiser inspired by a child's drawing, a newsletter, and outreach to state legislators
A grassroots group formed June 22, 2026 to educate, organize and advocate on proposed data center development across Mifflin County. NDCMC wants to connect with organizations across Pennsylvania facing similar developments; reach them through ndcmc.org. Donations go through Venmo (@NDCMC), by check, or in cash at events; the group says it is a registered 501(c)(4), so donations are not tax deductible.
Application for six data center buildings under the township's major traffic impact conditional use. The township manager, acting as zoning officer, returned it because the traffic impact study lacked the preparer's certification under section 4.202(e)(11); her letter says the certification cannot be supplied after the fact. She refunded the fee and invited a new filing. The developer disputes that reading.
Lewistown Development LLC / Pennsylvania Data Center Partners; Granville Township · Returned as incomplete July 16, 2026Appeal of the zoning officer's rejection, arguing nothing in the ordinance requires the certification at filing, that only the Planning Commission and supervisors could review the application, and that the zoning officer did not act in good faith; asks that review proceed under the ordinance in effect when the application was filed, which the Planning Code protects for duly filed applications.
Lewistown Development LLC v. Granville Township; NDCMC appearing through counsel · Hearing opened Oct 1, 2026; continued to Oct 26, 2026, 6:00 p.m., Granville Fire Company Event Center (township notice posted Oct 5)Statutory land use appeal challenging the validity of Ordinance 2026-02, the township's data center zoning amendment.
Lewistown Development LLC v. Granville Township · The Sentinel reports the developers withdrew from an Oct 9, 2026 hearing before Judge Aaron Gingrich; the docket number and the case's current status were not published in the coverage reviewedIn 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 →