Community and Economic Development Committee, May 14, 2026
Recommends approval: Bill 34 - General Fund Cost Distribution Amendment, unanimous
What happened
On May 14, 2026, the Community and Economic Development Committee recommended approval of Bill 34 - General Fund Cost Distribution Amendment (unanimous).
The Allentown Community and Economic Development Committee advanced Bill 20, a zoning ordinance amendment defining and regulating data center uses as a special-exception use in two industrial districts (IG and IM), with extensive setback, height, buffering, and environmental-stud…
- Jurisdiction
- Allentown, PA
- Governing body
- Advisory (makes a recommendation)
- Date
- May 14, 2026
- Decisions
- 3 zoning decisions
- Outcome
- Recommends approval, unanimous
- Next step
- Final board vote (pending)
Free sample: decision 1 of 3
Bill 20 - Data Center Use Zoning Ordinance Amendment
Amends Chapter 660 zoning to define data centers, accessory data center use, and renewable energy; adds data center as a special exception use in IG and IM industrial districts (over 50,000 sq ft) with minimum 5-8 acre requirements, 75-foot street setback, 200-foot setback from sensitive uses, 50-foot from property lines, 25-foot landscape buffer, 50-70 foot height max, and required environmental/noise/water/sewer/power studies. Moved forward favorably to regular meeting on a voice vote.
- special exception use requiring Zoning Hearing Board decision
- 75-foot street setback
- 200-foot setback from residential, civic, institutional, childcare uses
- 50-foot from all property lines
- 25-foot landscape buffer
- 50-foot max height (70-foot in higher districts)
- environmental impact, noise/vibration, water/sewer, power studies required
- minimum 5 or 8 acres depending on district
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Key Decisions (3)
Bill 20 - Data Center Use Zoning Ordinance Amendment
Bill 33 - Vacant and At-Risk Property Ordinance
Bill 34 - General Fund Cost Distribution Amendment
Full write-ups and conditions for all 3 decisions in Pro.
Market Signals (4)
Infrastructure
Allentown is proactively regulating data center development, limiting it to…
Housing Demand
Officials cited a housing shortage and robust market in Allentown,…
Commercial Demand
Multiple long-vacant commercial properties (some vacant over 10 years) in…
Sentiment
Council members expressed strong skepticism toward large data center operators…
Who spoke
10 distinct speakers; 7 identified names.
All speaker roles: 2 Councilmember, 3 Staff, 3 Public, 1 Chair, 1 Clerk.
Identified name roles: 2 Councilmember, 3 Staff, 1 Chair, 1 Clerk.
Speaker sample: Jennifer Gomez, Staff.
6 more identified names in Pro: 2 Councilmember, 2 Staff, 1 Chair, 1 Clerk.
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Meeting audio
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Zoning terms (9)
71 recorded timestamps
- zoning (24 timestamps)
- industrial (10 timestamps)
- commercial (18 timestamps)
- residential (12 timestamps)
- public hearing (2 timestamps)
- setback (2 timestamps)
Decision moments (3)
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