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Withdrawn / Denied

West Whiteland Data Center Zoning Petition (Green Fig, 2022)

West Whiteland Township, Chester County

A late-2022 petition to let data centers build by right in West Whiteland's Office/Laboratory district, with on-site power plants burning gas or hydrogen, dropped before its January 25, 2023 hearing after residents organized.

Withdrawn / DeniedTBD/UndisclosedN/ASE
At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusWithdrawn
Site25 acres
First announced2022-12-06

A 2022 zoning change that would have let a data center make its own power, withdrawn before its hearing

The number that mattersThe draft ordinance defined a 'power generating facility' as one producing electricity from 'solar, water, combustion of gas or hydrogen process steam' and would have allowed one as an accessory use to any data center in the Office/Laboratory district.
Developer
Green Fig Land LLC (Charles Lyddane), the developer of the neighboring East Whiteland data center site; attorney Lou Colagreco spoke for the petitioners
Tenant
No project or tenant. Lyddane told the Inquirer in January 2023 he had no plan yet for the West Whiteland property.
Current stage
Withdrawn. The January 25, 2023 hearing on the developer petition never took place. Separately, West Whiteland adopted its own data center regulations, Ordinance 492, on October 14, 2026, amending its noise and zoning chapters.
Decision body
West Whiteland Township Board of Supervisors
Top issues
On-site power generation burning gas or hydrogen; 60-foot buildings; noise near homes, Exton Park and the Chester Valley Trail; energy and water use
Key opponents
Food & Water Watch organizer Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, who ran a Facebook group of nearly 250 members against the plan; residents near Exton Park who spoke December 21, 2022
Key supporters
The township Planning Commission recommended adoption on December 6, 2022, and planning staff called the O/L district a better location than the I-2 district. A local IBEW construction worker spoke in favor on December 21, 2022.

How we got here

Petition received in 2022; Planning Commission recommended adoption December 6, 2022; supervisors set a January 25, 2023 hearing on December 21, 2022; Lyddane told the Inquirer the West Whiteland plan was on hold January 19, 2023; the hearing wasn't on the January 25 agenda and the developer withdrew. In 2026 the township invoked a curative amendment (April 22) and drafted its own data center ordinance, with hearings September 9 and October 14, 2026.

What is at stake

Impacts raised and open questions

Air quality

Medium

The draft amendment would have allowed a power generating facility burning gas or hydrogen process steam as an accessory use to any data center in the O/L district.

West Whiteland Township

Visual and light

Medium

The draft would have let data center buildings reach 60 feet if set back the building height plus 10 feet, and allowed tower-based communication facilities by right as an accessory use.

West Whiteland Township

Noise and vibration

Low

Residents raised noise for nearby homes and the Chester Valley Trail, citing Prince William County, Virginia; the petitioners' attorney said they wouldn't seek relief from the township noise ordinance (minutes, December 21, 2022).

West Whiteland Township
Community response

Who is organizing against it

Food & Water Watch Pennsylvania

Statewide group; organized West Whiteland residents near Exton Park

Leaders: Ginny Marcille-Kerslake (organizer)

Tactics: Facebook group, flyers at Exton Park trailheads, door-to-door petition, press outreach

The Inquirer reported the Facebook group had nearly 250 members in January 2023.

Website

Timeline

How it has unfolded

  • 2022-12-06The Planning Commission recommends adopting the data center amendment and asks that 'power generating facility' be defined. West Whiteland Township
  • 2022-12-21Supervisors unanimously adopt Resolution 2022-48 setting a January 25, 2023 hearing after residents raise noise, energy, water and gas-power concerns. West Whiteland Township
  • 2023-01-19Charles Lyddane tells the Inquirer he's put the West Whiteland data center and power-generating facility on hold. Philadelphia Inquirer
  • 2023-01-25The amended agenda for January 25, 2023 has no data center hearing; Food & Water Watch says the developer withdrew at the last minute. West Whiteland Township
  • 2026-04-22The township invokes a municipal curative amendment declaring its lack of data center rules a deficiency, starting a 180-day clock. West Whiteland Township
  • 2026-07-22Supervisors vote 2-0 to start the data center amendment and set a September 9 hearing after the Planning Commission's unanimous recommendation. West Whiteland Township
  • 2026-08-21County planners review West Whiteland's own 2026 data center curative amendment, a township action separate from the 2022 petition, and a companion noise ordinance amendment, and find both consistent with county plans Chester County Planning Commission
  • 2026-09-09The hearing on the township's data center ordinance opens and is continued to October 14 so revised text can be re-advertised. West Whiteland Township
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 →