S. Annville Twp. residents voice opposition to proposed data center

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

A packed audience at the South Annville Township Planning Commission meeting Tuesday unanimously voiced their opposition to the construction of a proposed $1.7 billion data center in the municipality.

1235 Martina Drive Owner LLC, a joint venture between Inch & Co. and Eastern Land & Resources Co., is petitioning the township for zoning changes as part of the planned project. During a nearly two-hour meeting, project developer Joe Eisenhauer, vice president for development with Inch & Co., presented an overview to commission members and the audience before public comment, which dominated the meeting. 

Most residents complied with a request from commission chairman Gordon Sheetz to limit comments to three minutes, and the meeting maintained decorum with numerous residents thanking Eisenhauer for his detailed explanation and addressing numerous concerns earlier in the meeting.

Sheetz also noted the meeting was a public information-gathering session only and that the planning commission have up to 45 days to make a recommendation to township supervisors, who have the final say on the petition. If the amendment is adopted, 1235 Martina Drive Owner LLC would have to go through the zoning approval process, which involves a conditional-use hearing, and the land development approval process.

Sheetz said a public comment period will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday during the supervisors’ meeting in the Annville-Cleona Secondary School auditorium.   

Before Eisenhauer left the meeting early to pick up his son, he thanked the audience for their complimentary comments about him on what he said is a controversial subject, adding he appreciated that no members of the standing-room-only audience snickered during his presentation. 

Eisenhauer attempted to address three common concerns associated with data centers – electrical needs, water usage, and noise levels – and he provided a brief overview of the projected annual tax revenue that would be generated by the center, which will sit on 99.3 acres and possibly be assessed at a projected value of $75 million.   

LebTown spoke with Eisenhauer earlier in the day during an exclusive interview and his description of the project to the six planning commission members in attendance aligned with his earlier statements, which can be read here. 

Prior to public comment, Eisenhauer answered questions posed by commission members, since many were hearing details of the proposal for the first time.

Commission member Peter Glusko asked about construction of a required 10-acre park as part of this project. Eisenhauer said township supervisors had requested an in-lieu-of payment for a park to be built in a more heavily populated area of the township.

Commission member Dave Sollenberger enquired about discharge of water used to keep the computing systems cool. Eisenhauer earlier said he’s working with the township authority to use effluent discharge from the nearby sewage treatment facility as a coolant, and said the water would return to the plant after it has been used. 

Commission member Jordan Good asked about specialized training for local fire departments, which Eisenhauer said would occur. He told commission member Stephanie Butler that the computing equipment would be switched out every 5 to 10 years and would not become obsolete as long as people use cellphones. 

While several residents – and some from outside of the township – asked municipal officials to slow the project down and for them to do due diligence, others spoke about environmental and health concerns. 

Dr. Thomas Dompier, an injury epidemiologist and Lebanon Valley College associate professor, said he found a robust amount of literature describing the negative health effects of low-frequency and infrasound noise on humans and animals. 

He said his research revealed the proposed center would be located within a mile of elementary and high schools and the Lebanon Valley College campus, which he said includes two classrooms and one dorm within the one-mile zone. 

“These types of machinery also generate what’s called infrasound and low-frequency sound, which we can’t hear, but your farm animals or pets probably will be able to hear, which will harm them,” Dompier said. “It will also harm you, even though you can’t hear it. And if you look, there’s a ton of research out there.”

He added that residents who live up to a mile away from existing data centers “frequently report sleep disturbances, stress, headaches, and decreased quality of life.” An informational sheet he handed out also stated that “chronic exposure to such noise has been linked to cardiovascular risks, anxiety, and cognitive impairment.”

The sheet also highlighted diesel and methane fuel pollutants and the centers negatively impacting property values. 

Jared Armstrong, founder and president of Charthouse, also highlighted decreased real estate values and asked municipal officials to conduct a real estate value impact study. He offered his expertise – even though he noted he has a conflict of interest since his company is in that industry.

“If somebody puts up $800,000 for a home and they’ve got $300,000 whacked off the value overnight, it’s a huge loss, really,” Armstrong said. “I mean, most of our wealth is tied up in our homes, right? So yeah, I would advise you guys to have somebody do a real estate study.”

Adam Penn mentioned sinkholes that exist in the area, adding that water use and vibrations are known to contribute to them. 

“We all know that sinkholes are a major problem in the area. They’ve been here for years. Right in our neighborhood, I have lost track of how many we’ve had. We just had one repaired again in the last two weeks or so,” Penn said. “Water runoff from any big flat surface is a major issue, and that’s going to affect any kind of ground problems, like sinkholes.”

Township resident Michael Schroeder said he’s organizing an opposition movement and noted people should contact him if they want to become involved. 

Nancy Laudermilch may have created a slogan for the data center protest group when she came up with “a little catchphrase for us to keep in mind – To keep Mount Pleasant Pleasant.”

In closing the meeting where no action was taken and the data center was the only agenda item, Sheetz reviewed the history of the nearly 100-acre parcel, adding there have been numerous projects proposed there that failed.

“We’ve made recommendations to the township supervisors, particularly on this specific parcel, but we thought maybe other types of uses should have gone in, and even if we recommended that, maybe they would allow it, but the supervisors did not allow it. So they’re going to make the final decision. They won’t make a decision tomorrow night,” Sheetz said.

Sheetz said something will eventually be built on that spot, which is zoned mostly for commercial and industrial use. Sheetz said the township doesn’t need more traffic in that area, and the police force is too small to respond to more calls at commercial locations.

Sheetz also highlighted state law that provides for all uses, which includes data centers.

“What I wanted to share with you, something’s going to be built there. And as we all know that zoning ordinances have zoning districts, and you have to provide for all of the uses,” Sheetz added. “As Joe said, and I’ll share this with you, ’cause some of you know this, some of you don’t, South Annville has more preserved farms in Lebanon County than any other municipality. There’s 37 and a half preserved farms in South Annville, and there’s one under consideration now. There’s almost 3,600 acres that are preserved. And as long as I’ve been on the planning commission, our goal was to save the farmland. But you have to provide uses in other areas too.”