The fight over a proposed data center at the former Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill in Plymouth Township is spreading beyond township borders, with two neighboring municipalities now seeking formal roles in the zoning proceedings.
The municipality of Norristown applied for party status at Plymouth Township's Zoning Hearing Board hearing on Thursday, Aug. 6, according to Patch. Conshohocken Borough Council voted Wednesday, Aug. 5 to authorize its solicitor to seek party status in the same case, according to MoreThanTheCurve.
Party status gives municipalities legal standing to cross-examine witnesses, present their own evidence and potentially block or delay the project. If granted, the designations would signal that the ZHB agrees the data center's impacts reach well beyond Plymouth Township's boundaries.
As we reported Aug. 6, the board took its first substantive testimony that evening at Colonial Middle School in Plymouth Meeting. The hearing was a continuation of the application by developer Brian O'Neill's entity, 900 Conshohocken Road LLC, to convert the 66-acre former steel mill site along the Schuylkill River into a nearly 2-million-square-foot data center spanning 10 existing buildings.
Governor weighs in
Gov. Josh Shapiro added his voice to the opposition on July 31, posting on X: "This is the exact wrong way to do development here in Pennsylvania. I'm a hell no."
Shapiro was responding to O'Neill's motion challenging the validity of Plymouth Township's zoning ordinance. O'Neill filed that challenge after the township presented a 43-point list of conditions for the project covering noise limits, buffer zones, water restrictions and on-site power generation. The township says O'Neill refused to consider those conditions, though an MLP Ventures spokesperson told Patch that characterization is inaccurate.
The dispute is not new. Plymouth Township Council Chair Lynne Viscio called O'Neill's zoning challenge "a blatant attempt by the applicant to demand approval by throwing a tantrum" in a July 27 public statement.
"We will not allow ourselves to be bullied or intimidated by any developer. Full stop," she said.
O'Neill released a developer-funded economic impact study on Aug. 4 claiming the project would generate $424 million in new tax revenue over 20 years, with the majority going to Colonial School District. An opposition petition has gathered more than 3,600 signatures.
What's next
The outcome of Thursday's hearing has not yet been made public, including whether Norristown was granted party status or when the next session will be scheduled. Plymouth Township livestreamed the Aug. 6 hearing on YouTube. Residents can check plymouthtownship.org for updates on the next hearing date and how to participate.
