Allen Township in Northampton County is advancing a zoning tool designed to restrict where data centers can be built within its borders, with a public hearing set for August 11 on an ordinance that would create a data center overlay district. One infrastructure project tied to a proposed facility has already begun moving through the permitting process.
What the Proposed Ordinance Would Do
The Allen Township Board of Supervisors is considering the creation of a data center overlay (DCO) zoning district. If approved, the ordinance would designate specific areas of the township where data center development is permitted, effectively confining such facilities to those zones and restricting them from other parts of the township.
The move follows a wave of similar regulatory efforts across the Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania, as municipalities weigh how to manage proposals for large-scale data center campuses that bring substantial demands for power, water, and road access.
Public Hearing Set for August 11
Allen Township has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed ordinance for Monday, August 11, at 6 p.m. at the Allen Township Municipal Building, 50 Snow Hill Road. Residents and property owners who want to comment on the proposed zoning change will have the opportunity to speak before the board takes any formal action.
One Project Already Moving Through Permitting
Even as the overlay ordinance is being drafted, at least one data center-related project is already in the regulatory pipeline. Developer Prologis received a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for a substation to be constructed at 2500 Liberty Drive in connection with a proposed data center. As of July 30, the township had not issued any construction permits for the data center facility itself.
The NPDES permit, issued by Pennsylvania regulators, governs stormwater and pollution controls for the substation construction site.
The Broader Lehigh Valley Data Center Picture
Allen Township is not alone in navigating data center pressure. South Whitehall Township’s planning commission held its first public review of the large-scale Project Atlas proposal in July 2026 and is expected to continue review in August. Lower Mount Bethel Township is holding its own data center ordinance hearing in mid-August. Lehigh County has also taken steps to control data center growth. The Allen Township hearing on August 11 is the next opportunity for residents to weigh in on how the Valley manages this wave of industrial-scale digital infrastructure investment.
At a Glance
- Allen Township (Northampton County) will hold a public hearing August 11 at 6 p.m. on a proposed data center overlay (DCO) zoning ordinance.
- The ordinance, if passed, would restrict data centers to designated zones within the township.
- Hearing location: Allen Township Municipal Building, 50 Snow Hill Road.
- Prologis received an NPDES stormwater permit for a substation at 2500 Liberty Drive; no construction permits for the data center itself have been issued.
- Multiple other Lehigh Valley municipalities are also advancing data center zoning restrictions.
