A local dispute over a massive proposed data center outside Philadelphia is no longer just about zoning.
As Montco Today detailed, it has become part of a broader national debate over who gets to decide where AI infrastructure is built and the guardrails around it, due to the efforts of a congressman from the area.
What's happening?
In Plymouth Township, the outlet noted the proposal has drawn intense opposition from residents living near the former Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill site, where developer Brian O'Neill wants to build a sprawling data center complex. The fight has drawn the attention of federal lawmakers and state leaders alike.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that after a 15-county swing through Pennsylvania turned up more opposition to data centers than he expected, California Rep. Ro Khanna, who grew up in Bucks County, introduced a nonbinding resolution for a national "Data Center Bill of Rights."
Khanna unveiled the concept on his YouTube page (@RepRoKhanna).
The proposal would support a community's ability to reject a data center through an open public process. It would also allow local bans on facilities located within 2,500 feet of homes, schools, childcare centers, hospitals, and nursing homes.
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MontCo Today noted the measure could carry major implications in Plymouth Township, where O'Neill is seeking to convert 10 buildings at 900 Conshohocken Road into a 2 million-square-foot data center. Some nearby homes sit just a few hundred feet from the site.
Because data centers are not specifically listed as a permitted use in the township's heavy-industrial zoning code, O'Neill is seeking a special exception, per the outlet. The zoning hearing board has continued the case to August 17, and even if the exception is granted, the project would still need to go through land-development review.
Why does it matter?
The Plymouth Township proposal reflects the tradeoffs tied to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Data centers can generate construction jobs, tax revenue, and digital capacity.
Because training and running AI systems takes enormous computing power, wider use of these tools is intensifying concern over the infrastructure behind them. Data centers can put heavy pressure on electric grids and, in many places, local water supplies, while increased energy demand can in some regions raise utility costs.
AI also has potential upsides. It can help optimize clean energy systems, improve grid management, and make buildings and transportation more efficient. Still, its expansion has raised concerns about security, misuse, environmental impacts, and whether local communities are being asked to absorb the downsides without enough input.
A Quinnipiac poll found that 74% of Pennsylvania voters said they would oppose having a data center in their own community, MontCo Today noted.
What's being done?
Though it would not have legal force, Khanna's resolution pushes the debate into Congress. The outlet said he has also called for Pennsylvania to pause approval of new data center development statewide, a more aggressive position than state leaders have proposed.
Locally, residents in the Connaughtown neighborhood have gathered more than 1,200 petition signatures opposing the project, MontCo Today reported. Plymouth's own planning agency has also pushed back on O'Neill's economic projections.
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