Muncy Township, Lycoming County
The Liberty Group's DANKO Holdings II wants to build three data center buildings on about 100 acres off John Brady Drive, says the plan was approved by default, and now faces appeals from neighbors, the township and an environmental group.
A zoning permit application dated April 15, 2026 named DANKO Holdings II and Fishlips. On April 22 the township secretary told the developer that plans had to go through the township's formal intake process. The township formally acknowledged a conditional use plan at 2:40 p.m. on April 28 and adopted a moratorium of up to nine months on data center applications at a special meeting later that day; the then-solicitor said it would not be applied retroactively. The proposal became public in June 2026 reporting, and residents spoke at the planning commission's first public meeting on June 24. The supervisors declared the zoning ordinance substantially invalid for data centers on July 8, starting a curative amendment. The developer published a deemed approval notice in the Sun-Gazette on July 15. The solicitor called the filings inconsistent and said roughly half the site lies in neighboring Muncy Creek Township, which says it has received no applications, permits or plan submittals. Neighbors appealed in county court, and in early October Green Amendments for the Generations, neighbors and the township challenged the deemed approval law in Commonwealth Court. The township posted its proposed data center ordinance on October 13, and Judge William P. Carlucci set a November 6 hearing on the developer's motion to quash.
Update, October 26, 2026. On August 14, 2026 neighbors whose home borders the site filed a land use appeal of the deemed approval in Lycoming County court. In its answer the township admitted it didn't act on the application within 60 days or advertise the deemed approval within 10 days, and asked the court to send the matter back to supervisors for a hearing. On September 25, 2026 Green Amendments for the Generations, the township and several residents filed a Commonwealth Court challenge to the deemed approval provisions of the Municipalities Planning Code.
The site plan shows six water tanks plus water and sewage treatment facilities. At the June 24 planning meeting, the township engineer said any withdrawals from the nearby Susquehanna River would need feasibility studies, including whether pumping is possible during drought, and a neighbor who relies on two wells said he worried his supply could be drained.
Williamsport Sun-GazetteThe township's proposed ordinance would cap equivalent continuous sound at 50 dBA in the daytime and 45 dBA in the evening at suburban receiving properties, limit tonal noise, and allow backup generator testing only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays with 24 hours' public notice.
Muncy TownshipA neighboring property owner told the planning commission that a data center could make his property nearly worthless.
Williamsport Sun-GazetteThe roughly 100-acre site is cornfields downriver from Muncy Farms, home to a 1769 farmhouse described as the oldest in Lycoming County. Land across the highway holds the largely vacant Lycoming Mall.
Pennsylvania Capital-Star (via News From The States)Leaders: Maya K. van Rossum (founder)
Tactics: Commonwealth Court lawsuit under the Environmental Rights Amendment, filed with neighbors and the township supervisors
Van Rossum also leads the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. The Sun-Gazette describes the group as a Bucks County organization.
Neighbors appealed the developer's notice of deemed approval. The township served an answer. The developer moved to quash, arguing the appeal has defects that can't be cured by amendment. It says it is seeking deemed approval of its conditional use application, not a curative amendment, and that the planning code allows no deemed approval for curative amendments.
Neighboring residents (appellants); Muncy Township; DANKO Holdings II, LP / Fishlips, LLC (developer, represented by Samuel E. Wiser Jr. of Salzmann Hughes, P.C.) · Pending. Hearing on the developer's motion to quash set for November 6, 2026, 9:30 a.m.Claims that the deemed approval provisions of the Municipalities Planning Code conflict with the Environmental Rights Amendment (Article I, Section 27) and violate free expression, property and due process rights.
Green Amendments for the Generations and its members, neighboring property owners including the Muncy Farms owners, and the Muncy Township supervisors; served on the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office · PendingThe neighbors' land use appeal challenges the deemed approval of the conditional use application. The township's answer admits it didn't act within 60 days or advertise within 10 days and asks the court to send the matter back to supervisors for a hearing. The developer, represented by Samuel E. Wiser Jr. and Tyler R. Beaston of Salzmann Hughes, P.C., moved to quash, arguing the appeal targets the curative amendment instead of the conditional use approval and that the window to raise new grounds has closed.
Two neighboring residents (appellants); Muncy Township Board of Supervisors; DANKO Holdings II, LP and Fishlips, LLC · Pending. Argument on the developer's motion to quash is scheduled for November 6, 2026 at 9:30 a.m.The petitioners challenge the constitutionality of the Municipalities Planning Code's deemed approval provisions, which the developer relies on. Solicitor Joe Orso said the case provides for an automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court and could take about five years.
Green Amendments for the Generations, Muncy Township, the Muncy Township Board of Supervisors and several residents · PendingIn 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 →