Developer Brian O'Neill rejected all 43 health and safety conditions Plymouth Township Council offered for his proposed data center at 900 Conshohocken Road, then filed a legal challenge to the township's zoning ordinance itself, Council Chair Lynne Viscio disclosed Monday.
The twin moves escalate a fight that has consumed Plymouth Township since November 2025, when O'Neill's first application for the site was withdrawn. Operating through MLP Ventures and the entity 900 Conshohocken Road LLC, O'Neill wants to convert the former Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant along the Schuylkill River into a data center. The 2-million-square-foot site would house renovated steel mill buildings with standby generators and gas turbines.
The council's 43-point list included a 50-decibel noise limit at all property boundaries, a 500-foot setback between noise-generating equipment and residential zones, a minimum 100-foot planted buffer of trees and shrubs, a closed-loop cooling system with non-toxic coolant and a requirement that the project generate its own power rather than draw from public utilities. Additional conditions banned drawing water from the Schuylkill River, prohibited discharge into the river, capped buildings at two stories, and required a continuous public monitoring portal for air quality, noise and vibration.
O'Neill rejected every one.
He then filed a second application challenging the validity of Plymouth Township's zoning ordinance, claiming it is too difficult to develop the data center under its terms.
"To be clear, this is a blatant attempt by the applicant to demand approval by throwing a tantrum," Viscio said during the Monday public statement. "The township is not interested in entertaining such theatrics."
Viscio delivered the statement on behalf of the unanimous council, calling it a public disclosure of the state of negotiations. She said the council will continue to oppose both the special exception application and any challenge to its zoning ordinance.
This is O'Neill's second attempt at the site. His first application was withdrawn in November 2025 after a zoning hearing revealed the applicant lacked legal standing because the agreement of sale with the property owner had not been finalized. The original application had argued data centers were similar to research laboratories and warehouses, which are permitted uses. The council rejected that premise and directed O'Neill to apply for a special exception.
O'Neill is also behind a roughly 4.6-million-square-foot data center cluster proposal in nearby Upper Merion Township, where the planning commission declined to endorse three of five application items Friday. Emails obtained through a Right to Know request by the advocacy group Concerned Citizens of Montour County show O'Neill has been in contact with Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration about loosening data center zoning rules and urging that residents' right to appeal be stripped, as Patch reported.
The Plymouth Township Zoning Hearing Board scheduled a procedural meeting for Tuesday, July 28, solely to consider continuing the public hearing to Thursday, August 6, at 7:00 p.m. at Colonial Middle School, 716 Belvoir Road, Plymouth Meeting. Residents can attend the August 6 hearing; the township has not confirmed whether public comment will be accepted at that session.
