The Bethlehem Planning Commission unanimously approved plans for a two-story, 65,000-square-foot data center in an industrial park near Routes 22 and 378, despite the urging of dozens of residents who oppose the project.

During and after the vote, opponents voiced their anger at planners and developers, yelling "shame" in unison.

Project Details and Developer Assurances

Data-center company Tensor IQ and construction contractor Boyle Construction announced in August their plans to build a 120-megawatt data center on a vacant site at 2184 Industrial Drive.

Dylan Panebianco, vice president of operations at Boyle Construction, told the commission and a packed audience that plans for the data center would mitigate sound, pollution, and electric bill impacts to the surrounding area.

The data center will rely on three natural gas generators stored in a basement 20 feet below ground level. Those generators will provide around 20% of the data center's required energy but have the ability to fully power the data center in case of power outages or strain to the electrical grid. In addition, the developers will finance USD 86 million in upgrades to the electrical grid and shoulder the cost of a new natural gas line to power the center.

The facility will use a closed loop cooling system located on the building's roof to cool its hardware, using a combination of water and glycol, and will not use water from local waterways. However, the data center will also use around 45 million gallons of water in order to meet Environmental Protection Agency requirements to mitigate pollution from the natural gas generators by evaporating into the air.

The data center will generate no more than 55 decibels, which is within the city's legal requirements and below the measured noise levels in the area of around 70 decibels at a maximum.

"We think this is the right project in the right site," said Sean Boyle, president of Boyle Construction. "We've tried to be conscious about the community, the noise, the sound, as you can see, the water, and the electricity. And we want this to be something that at the end of the day, we can all be proud of."

Opponents Say Developers Fell Short

Despite the developers' assurances, opponents said the developers had not gone far enough to protect neighbors from possible harms and failed to provide enough information about their plans.

Bethlehem last month approved an ordinance that tightens restrictions on data centers within the city limits; however, since the developers submitted their application prior to the ordinance, they are not subject to its stricter rules.

The developers said they meet nearly all the requirements in the new ordinance except for the "setback" rules, which require data centers to be at least 1,000 feet away from "sensitive" uses like homes, schools, and hospitals. The proposed data center, while it is in an industrial area, is located just north of a residential neighborhood on the other side of Route 22.

"What will be the true benefit to this community with this? I don't see any. From my standpoint, where I live, there is nothing," said Bret Becker, who lives in the neighborhood. "Developers say they're in the local community; that's fine, but on that picture [of the proposed data center site], you could see my house. Do you see your houses there? Would you want your house right next to a data center?"

Commissioners Cite Legal Standards Over Public Opposition

Planning commission members said that, while they were sympathetic to the public's concerns, they are tasked with evaluating land development projects based on the city's laws and regulations, not on public opposition.

"Bethlehem can welcome responsible private investment while insisting on and putting on those guardrails and insisting on accountability, transparency, and compliance with applicable standards," said Commission Chair Robert Melosky.

"Our job is not to stand in the way of progress but to make certain that progress occurs responsibly and with protections. And I believe that if the applicant has demonstrated he is in compliance."

Community Benefits Agreement and Waivers Approved

The developers also agreed to dedicate a portion of their revenue to projects that benefit the community. They did not provide specific details but said they were working with an activist based at the University of Notre Dame who would help conduct outreach to the public on a community benefits agreement.

The Industrial Drive site is zoned for industrial use, where data centers are permitted "by-right" under the former ordinance. However, the developer asked for three waivers of the city's land development applications.

Those waivers, which commissioners also unanimously approved, exempt the developer from tree-planting requirements; developers will instead pay a "fee in lieu of" the trees they would have been required to plant and a limit on the width of the driveways leading into the data center.

Opponents urged the commissioners to reject the waivers in order to stall the project, which they did not do. Instead, commissioners unanimously granted the waiver request before granting the project final approval.

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