Olyphant Borough Moratorium
Olyphant Borough, Lackawanna County
A zoning response from Olyphant Borough, Lackawanna County, adopted so the community would have standards in place rather than reacting to whatever arrives first.
The project by the numbers
Olyphant Borough, Lackawanna County moved first and wrote its own rules
- Current stage
- This entry tracks a municipal zoning decision rather than a proposed facility. The community set standards ahead of any application.
- Decision body
- Olyphant Borough
- Top issues
- The questions here are about the rules themselves, including how far equipment must sit from homes, what noise limits apply, and whether a municipality can set terms before an application arrives.
Adopted moratorium on data-center applications.
How it has unfolded
- 2025-12-01Borough adopts a six month halt on data center applications, an early example of the 180 day pauses that spread across Lackawanna, Luzerne and Chester counties through 2026 Scranton Times-Tribune
Coverage of this project
- 2026-06-02 exploreClarion / exploreVenangoScrubgrass Could Become Area's Largest AI Data Center CampusLackawanna and northwestern PA municipal responses to crypto and AI conversions
Sources
Know your rights
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 →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 ask your municipality for a moratorium and a real ordinance.
How communities push back →