City Council, June 17, 2026
Denies Municipal curative amendment for data centers (MCA), 2-4
What happened
Allentown City Council passed Bill 20, a zoning ordinance amendment creating a special-exception designation for data centers in IG and IM districts with a 200-foot setback, on a 4-2 vote (Gerlach and Santos dissenting).
- Jurisdiction
- Allentown, PA
- Governing body
- Final authority
- Date
- June 17, 2026
- Decisions
- 16 zoning decisions
- Outcome
- Denied, 2-4
Projects in this meeting (1)
A project bundles every related decision, across hearingsBill 20 - data center zoning
Approved 4-2Free sample: decision 1 of 16
Contract with Urban Design Ventures LLC (R70)
Authorization for contract with Urban Design Ventures LLC in the estimated sum of $100,000 per contract year for consulting services to complete the city's 2026 CDBG-ESG Home Annual Action Plan and 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan. Seven proposals received; one-year contract with four additional one-year renewals. Passed 6-0.
The other decisions are listed below by title. The full write-up, verbatim conditions, and the audio at each vote are in Pro.
Meeting Summary
Allentown City Council passed Bill 20, a zoning ordinance amendment creating a special-exception designation for data centers in IG and IM districts with a 200-foot setback, on a 4-2 vote (Gerlach and Santos dissenting).
Key Decisions (16)
Contract with Urban Design Ventures LLC (R70)
Cooperative contracts over $40,000 (R71)
Bill 20 - Data center zoning ordinance amendment
Municipal curative amendment for data centers (MCA)
Bill 43 - Youth Climate Action Fund appropriation
Bill 44 - Council of Youth amendment
Bill 47 - PFAS settlement appropriation
Bill 48 - Trexler Fund appropriation
Consent agenda (R72, R75, R76, R77)
R74 - Paul Anthony appointment to ANIZDA
R78 - Safe Streets and Roads grant application (Emmaus Avenue)
R79 - Cancellation of July 1 council meeting
Bill 49 - Crosswalk flashing beacons (introduction)
Bill 50 - Position upgrades (introduction)
Bill 51 - Position downgrade (introduction)
R80 - Independent five-year financial analysis (introduction)
Zoning Changes (1)
Development Activity (1)
2401 West Emmaus Avenue data center
Commercial
Market Signals (4)
Commercial Demand
Multiple data center developers are actively pursuing Allentown sites; the…
Infrastructure
Residents and officials repeatedly warned that data centers will substantially…
Sentiment
Strong, organized public opposition to data centers (3,500-signature petition, multiple…
Infrastructure
The city is deferring certain capital projects pending an independent…
Who Spoke (20)
On the record: the chair, 5 councilmembers, 3 staff members, the clerk, a witness, and 5 members of the public.
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