September ’26 Planning Commission: Data Centers & Levy Mining Proposal
The September 22nd Springfield Township Planning Commission meeting included updates on two major land-use issues:
> The proposed data center ordinance
> The pending Levy/Burroughs Materials mining application
Click HERE to View Timeline with Agendas
Data Center Ordinance: Making Progress
The Planning Commission’s data center subcommittee met September 10 and includes Chair Brian Galley, Trustee Kevin Sclesky, Commissioner Andy Donato and Township resident Brandon Boucher. The group reviewed the draft ordinance line by line and provided edits to Carlisle/Wortman Associates.
Township planner Megan Masson-Minock said the revised draft would next go to the Fire Department, Township Engineer and Township Attorney, then back to the subcommittee for another review. The goal is to have a revised ordinance ready for the Planning Commission’s October meeting.
Commissioners praised Boucher and Donato for bringing technical experience to the discussion.
During public comment, Boucher, a professional engineer with decades of experience involving data centers, IT infrastructure and power systems, said the intent is to create an ordinance that follows the law while putting strong protections in place.
“We can’t outright refuse to have an actual data center here, but we can set the bar so high that it is cost prohibitive for them to come in here,” Boucher said.
He discussed proposed restrictions involving cooling systems, water use, onsite power generation and protections intended to keep costs associated with a data center from being shifted onto existing utility customers.
Side Note: It was refreshing to see the Planning Commission give a resident from a subcommittee the floor (without restrictions &/or intimidations) to openly discuss his experience after just one subcommittee meeting. That’s nice. IYKYK.
Levy/Burroughs: The Update on the Update
There have been no official meetings between Township officials or consultants and the applicant since the previous update. Levy representative Reuben Maxbauer said site investigations will continue.
And the resubmittal? Still no date.
Masson-Minock told commissioners that Maxbauer has given no indication of when the revised application materials can be expected. The written update offers essentially the same information for October: “Site investigation continues,” and the schedule may change. So the September “Levy Updates and Project Status” update is, essentially:
– No meetings.
– No resubmittal date
– and the one-hit wonder: “Site investigation continues“
More than 500 days after the application was submitted, residents are still waiting for Levy/Burroughs to provide information needed to move the application forward.
“We Have to Follow the Law” Well, yeah…
Several residents raised that issue during public comment, questioning how long an applicant can be allowed to leave an application hanging without completing the requested information.
Chair Brian Galley repeatedly responded that the Township “has to follow the law.” Of course it does. But residents weren’t asking the Township to stop following the law. They were asking why “following the law” appears to mean an application can remain unresolved for more than 500 days with no deadline for the applicant to finish what it started.
For some residents, the extraordinary amount of time and flexibility being given to Levy/Burroughs is increasingly raising questions about whether the company is being accommodated differently than another applicant might be.
