All Pennsylvania projects
Contested

Sugarloaf Township Data Center (LBT Investment Group)

Sugarloaf Township, Luzerne County

LBT Investment Group sued after Sugarloaf Township rejected its curative amendment for data centers. Supervisors tabled a negotiated settlement ordinance in February 2026 and have since moved to write their own rules.

ContestedTBD/UndisclosedUnknownNEPA
At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusOn Appeal
First announced2025-07

Chicago developer's zoning lawsuit pushes Sugarloaf Township toward its own data center rules

The number that mattersThe draft settlement amendment posted for the Feb. 17, 2026 meeting said 'a Data Center will only be permitted if it has direct access to the existing 230 KV electric transmission line easements within the Township,' and would have allowed noise up to 67 dBA by day and 57 dBA at night at neighboring property lines.
Developer
LBT Investment Group LLC, which the Times Leader describes as based in Chicago, represented by land use attorney Julie Wagner Burkhart. Attorney Jack Dean, representing residents, said in February 2026 that the company hadn't registered to do business in Pennsylvania until the day of the township meeting.
Tenant
No tenant named.
Current stage
LBT's land use appeal over its curative amendment challenge was last reported pending in Luzerne County Court, where residents intervened; their attorney moved on Feb. 17, 2026 to strike the appeal. Supervisors tabled the negotiated settlement amendment that day. The township held a public hearing on Ordinance No. 1 of 2026 on Aug. 18, 2026, and a Sept. 28 special meeting agenda put Resolution No. 20 of 2026 before the board, declaring the zoning ordinance substantively invalid as to data centers and directing a township curative amendment. The board met in executive session Sept. 30 about 'pending litigation involving the Township's Zoning Ordinance.' We couldn't confirm whether LBT is still pursuing its appeal. DEP lists the project as proposed with no applications as of October 22, 2026.
Decision body
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas (LBT's land use appeal); Sugarloaf Township Board of Supervisors (zoning amendments and any settlement); Sugarloaf Township Zoning Hearing Board; Pennsylvania DEP (permits)
Top issues
A developer-negotiated curative amendment and whether to settle the lawsuit; well water and water use; PPL's 500-kilovolt Sugarloaf line and eminent domain; noise limits; whether LBT was registered in Pennsylvania and had rights to the land; transparency of the township's special counsel
Key opponents
Alliance to Stop the Line (founder John Zola), which also fights PPL's 500-kilovolt Sugarloaf line; attorney Jack Dean, representing resident intervenors in the court case; State Rep. Jamie Walsh, R-Ross Township, who has named Sugarloaf among townships he says are being targeted.
Key supporters
LBT Investment Group. Attorney Edward J. Harvilla wrote to the township in October 2025 about a possible petition to intervene in the lawsuit in support of data centers.

How we got here

LBT filed a curative amendment challenge in 2025, and after supervisors didn't accept it, appealed to Luzerne County Court and asked for an injunction. On Aug. 19, 2025, the township agenda proposed hiring attorney Michael Crotty of Siana Law as special counsel on the case, and on Aug. 28 Crotty held a special meeting where most of the dozens of residents present opposed a data center. In October 2025 attorney Edward J. Harvilla wrote about possibly intervening in support of data centers. At a Dec. 30, 2025 public hearing, LBT and Crotty presented a draft ordinance, and LBT's attorney described closed-loop cooling and a connection to existing 230-kilovolt lines. On Feb. 17, 2026, supervisors Joseph DiSabella Sr., Rick Weaver and Jennifer Pecora unanimously tabled the settlement amendment after attorney Jack Dean filed a motion to strike LBT's appeal for lack of Pennsylvania registration. On June 24 the board voted to advertise Ordinance No. 1 of 2026, covering uses not expressly permitted or prohibited, and held a public hearing on it Aug. 18, the night newly appointed Supervisor Nicholas Larock was sworn in. A Sept. 28 special meeting agenda listed Resolution No. 20 of 2026 to declare the zoning ordinance invalid for data centers and start a township curative amendment, and the board met in executive session Sept. 30 on pending zoning litigation.

What is at stake

Impacts raised and open questions

Water

Medium

LBT said its closed-loop cooling would use about 100,000 gallons per building, similar to the warehouse already approved for the site, and residents at the Dec. 30 hearing asked what happens if local wells are affected.

FOX56 (WOLF)

Water

Medium

WVIA reports that most Sugarloaf Township residents rely on private wells.

WVIA News

Energy costs and the grid

Medium

LBT said the project would tie only into existing 230-kilovolt lines and that PPL had confirmed it couldn't connect to the 500-kilovolt lines planned for the area.

FOX56 (WOLF)

Property values

Medium

PPL's Sugarloaf transmission line, which LBT says it won't use, would run about 11 more miles through residents' land in its second phase, with 30 eminent domain applications, according to WVIA.

WVIA News

Noise and vibration

Medium

The February 2026 draft settlement amendment would have allowed 67 dBA by day and 57 dBA at night at neighboring property lines, with data centers kept just over 200 feet from residential property lines.

Sugarloaf Township
Community response

Who is organizing against it

Alliance to Stop the Line

Sugarloaf Valley residents (Nescopeck, Sugarloaf and Prospect Park) opposing PPL's 500-kilovolt line and pressing the township on data centers · 327 signatures

Leaders: John Zola, founder

Tactics: Petition, public comment at township meetings, testimony at Public Utility Commission hearings

The petition form shows 327 offline signatures. Zola urged supervisors in February 2026 to file the township's own curative amendment.

Petition

Timeline

How it has unfolded

  • 2025-08-19The agenda proposes hiring attorney Michael Crotty as special counsel for the curative amendment lawsuit and notes LBT has asked the court for an injunction. Sugarloaf Township
  • 2025-08-28At a special meeting, Crotty explains the curative amendment lawsuit and lists priorities for a data center ordinance; most residents present oppose a data center. Times Leader
  • 2025-10-21Minutes note a letter from attorney Edward J. Harvilla about a possible petition to intervene in the LBT lawsuit in support of data centers. Sugarloaf Township
  • 2025-12-30At a public hearing, LBT presents its project and a draft ordinance tied to the lawsuit; residents pack the room in opposition. FOX56 (WOLF)
  • 2026-02-17Supervisors unanimously table the settlement amendment after a lawyer for resident intervenors moves to strike LBT's appeal. Times Leader
  • 2026-06-24The board votes to advertise Ordinance No. 1 of 2026, covering uses not expressly permitted or prohibited, and set a public hearing. Sugarloaf Township
  • 2026-07-03During public comment at a special meeting, Alliance to Stop the Line founder John Zola says the resident intervenors' attorney is having difficulty getting information from LBT in the court case and that LBT is trying to block it. Sugarloaf Township
  • 2026-08-18Public hearing on Ordinance No. 1 of 2026, with adoption listed on the regular meeting agenda that followed. Sugarloaf Township
  • 2026-09-28A special meeting agenda lists Resolution No. 20 of 2026, declaring the zoning ordinance substantively invalid as to data centers and directing a township curative amendment. Sugarloaf Township
  • 2026-09-30The board holds an executive session on pending litigation involving the township's zoning ordinance. Sugarloaf Township
Legal record

Filings and legal actions

  • 2025
    Curative amendment challenge and land use appeal Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas · n/a

    LBT argued the township's zoning was defective for not providing for data centers. After supervisors didn't accept its curative amendment, LBT appealed and sought an injunction. The township and LBT negotiated a settlement ordinance, which supervisors tabled on Feb. 17, 2026. The intervenors argue LBT lacked standing because it wasn't registered in Pennsylvania.

    LBT Investment Group LLC v. Sugarloaf Township; resident intervenors represented by attorney Jack Dean · Last reported pending; resident intervenors' motion to strike was filed Feb. 17, 2026, and supervisors met in executive session on pending zoning litigation Sept. 30, 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.

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 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 →