Ahh birds of a feather on a Monday morning? State Representative Lisa Borowski who was a self- serving commissioner in Radnor Township is now an equally self-serving State Representative for Delaware County is a co-sponsor of PA HB 2151 which adds data center language dangerously so to the PA Municipalities Planning Code gets voted on this morning.
Lisa Borowski doesn’t give a good god damn about Pennsylvanians obviously and well if she’s elected again then Delaware County has lost its mind. She could’ve removed herself from the spill, but she just ignored everyone and went to her little petition signing parties. Of course she’s also let down a lot of Radnor residents recently on issues they are having where she promised to help.
Kristine Howard of course is the great invisible state representative representing parts of Chester county including East Whiteland, which is fighting a data center.
From Ginny Kerslake:
📌At 10 o’clock this morning, March 2 the Pennsylvania House Energy Committee will be voting on HB2151. You can watch the vote at the link below.
HB2151 will NOT put strict guardrails on data center development as some in Harrisburg are claiming. Expect the opposite from the Department of Community and Economic Development which has been working hand-in-hand with corporations like Amazon to fast-track projects and keep information from impacted communities. They should not be in charge of deciding what is reasonable for local data center ordinances – such things as setback distances from homes and schools or maximum allowable noise level levels.
All of these state representatives are on the ballot this year. Let’s see how they vote
Shhhhh! They want it to be a political secret! Literally if you try searching for it on Google and stuff it’s nearly impossible to find you have to dig. Which is kind of unusual because they want these bills out there so people can see their elected officials are working except they elected officials know this is a shameful dirty secret and should not pass go.
The media is not really talking about this – I have only found ONE story and it goes to some sort of initial vote TOMORROW as in 2/4/26. But we all are and why is that? Is there a Johnny Frack err Josh Shapiro blackout of sorts? I hate to sound all conspiracy theory, but this whole issue is like a giant conspiracy theory, isn’t it?
It is a partisan bill. It’s a Democrat sponsored bill, the they want to offer up with us the residents of Pennsylvania as collateral damage, to help Governor Josh Shapiro, who just launched his reelection campaign and has an agenda when it comes to data centers, doesn’t he?
An Act amending the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.805, No.247), known as the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, in zoning, providing for data center ordinance assistance; and imposing duties on the Center for Local Government Services.
So yes, it’s a Band-Aid on the Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) which hasn’t had any comprehensive updates since circa 1968 or 1969. The MPC guides all the zoning that we find maddening affecting our communities. The MPC is the reason that when your elected officials say they can’t do something about something getting shoved down a community’s throat…they often can’t. Sometimes it’s because they lost their balls but not all of the time, right?
You know it’s funny, but under the MPC, all of our communities have to update their comprehensive plans every so many years or they should. (In some cases, like what was once the case in Lower Merion Township for example, it was like 30 years or better, but I digress.) Anyway the MPC tells our communities how often they should update yet that weighty tome is never comprehensively updated, and it needs it, but in order to do it, it requires an act of the state constitution to be enacted, and isn’t it time yet to do so?
I mean, why would politicians actually go out of our their way to do anything truly beneficial for their communities when it’s far easier to hold up that gruel bowl and to just continue to jury rig the MPC with these odd legislative Band-Aids that do more harm than good? This is exactly the case in my humble opinion with PA HB 2151 of 2026. Josh Shapiro and his corporate buddies and lobbyists want it, yes? It’s not all about them yet is it?
This has barely been introduced five minutes ago quite literally and it’s already being warp speed turbo charged fast tracked. All by edict of the Governor and his cozy relationships with AI and data center folks, yes? A VOTE IS SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW ALREADY. We know how slow stuff moves in Harrisburg, yet this is all polished and ready to go? Mmmkay.
PA HB 502 of 2025 is kind of a political cousin to PA 2151 of 2026. It kind of interesting that you can’t find articles about it now and PA 2151 is very hard to locate on a simple internet search. It’s hiding in plain sight hoping it’ll get passed PDQ.
PA HB 2151 will literally remove rights from municipalities regarding data centers. It’s not some nice and nicely how to guide which is how it’s being misrepresented by state reps and presented.
The good news is state reps are almost always constantly running for office because it’s a two-year term. We as Pennsylvania’s need to remind them. They can’t rest on their laurels and hope the Democrats are going to save them because this is a partisan bill. We don’t have much time to ratchet it up here and we need to get busy. It’s already happening but you can do your part contact your state rep. Tell them simply PA HB5121 is not for the good of Pennsylvania. You need to tell them if they like being a state rep they don’t want this to be their Waterloo.
Now I want show you who’s involved with the bill. And please note there is still one obvious Chester County State Reps who is a sponsor. Sappey and I am very disappointed in her, and Danielle Friel Otten who ran initially as a pipeline activist, has apparently removed herself (more below). Of course former Radnor Township Commissioner who often looks like a muppet with those bangs who is now a Delaware County State Rep named Lisa Borowski is on it as well, which doesn’t surprise me because all she does is bend over in Harrisburg, for whatever she is told to do, doesn’t she? And yes, that does sound vulgar, but that’s an opinion of how people see her.
(Actually any sponsor or co-sponsor on this bill should be sent kneepads with Josh Shapiro‘s face on them shouldn’t they? )
Your data center issue potentially appearing in your community is your new pipeline. It’s your new condo building you don’t want. It’s your new apartment building. It’s also your new warehouse that you don’t want. The common denominator here is they need to comprehensively update the PA Municipalities Planning Code yet what do they want to do? Shove data centers in everywhere. Now I’m gonna show you who the Bill sponsors are here and then I’m going to segue to a piece of Pennsylvania in Lackawanna County that you didn’t know existed- Archbald. Why is this little area? That’s a big big acreage area called Archbald important? They’re trying to shove 400 acres are better of data center up there. This area is a proposed location for several large-scale data center projects, notably the Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus (14 buildings) and “Project Gravity” (7 buildings) by Western Hospitality Partners, sparking significant local debate over environmental impact (water, power) and proximity to residential areas
If you want to FedEx, these people kneepads, you can go to their office page, you will get the addresses. Of course I’m actually kidding with the kneepads but it’s apropos in my opinion.
I must note that since I started this post earlier today, Rep. Danielle Otten has apparently removed herself from the bill. However, there is no public announcement of this by here, and shouldn’t there be? Otherwise it makes people wonder, right? If you are standing with the people, please say so. Here are the screen shots that pertain to this and see updated list here:
So giddy up fellow Pennsylvanians and stop this thing. It deserves to be stopped. This bill diminishes our rights to have a say in the shape of our communities. Plus there are very real environmental and other issues with regard to data centers. Google Louden County Virginia and other places which have been negatively impacted. Here in Chester County and throughout PA, it’s starting to feel like every day brings another data center plan. It’s time to slow their roll.
Let’s be clear about the data center here. What was originally approved and allowed by East Whiteland you’re not going to cancel that BUT given the size and the expansion they want to do on something that is not yet open and proves it needs. It is like a whole other plan and shoukd be treated as such, right??
Now the data center developer wants to upgrade some technology and move some stuff around. If that is hypothetically beneficial to his plan and would be beneficial to the residents that’s one thing but that does NOT mean the developer should just get a gimme supersizing prize of a half built project not up and running, does it?
And I hear that East Whiteland is putting a live stream on for this very heated topic. Their reticence with that is they don’t want to be hacked again (happened with Zoom) and have to see porn but you know what? how many other municipalities still do Zoom every week? Maybe their Internet safety protocol isn’t strong enough? The planning commission is but the opening salvo here.
Anyway as per East Whiteland’s website:
The Applicant for the proposed Data Center on Swedesford Road will attend the upcoming Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 7:00pm (Livestream Available via Link Below)
The Applicant for the proposed Data Center on Swedesford Road will attend the upcoming Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 7:00pm to present an Amended Plan for the project. In addition to in-person attendance, the meeting will be available to Livestream via the Township Website using the link below. Public comment may be submitted via email to bcarosello@eastwhiteland.org. Please submit comments by 4:00pm on Wednesday.
People need to make sure that they tell every single supervisor and Township staff (politely) if they don’t want this. And they can’t just do it on social media. You have to zoom into the meetings, go to the meetings, send emails. Call media you know to cover it. Residents and those concerned need to make the time, not excuses.
If residents had paid more attention around 2022 when this whole thing was going through initial approval process, maybe we wouldn’t be here today but we will never know as that ship sailed. What hasn’t sailed is the developer does not have the Divine Right of Kings to make his project bigger, does he? That wasn’t what was approved, and it has to go through a whole new planning process from top to the bottom or it should right? I mean a 629,830 square foot increase is not smidge larger is it? “1,026,800 s.f. to 1,656,630 s.f. (along with related increases in building coverage and impervious coverage)” is quite a bit larger, yes?
And people from East Whiteland are contacting East Whiteland about the 55+ development that was approved years ago unavoidably in West Whiteland. Again, that ship sailed. I told people here and people told people other places about all those meetings, and the residents did not pay attention. And the problem with that project is under the Municipalities Planning Code so it was approved. And until that weighty outdated tome in Harrisburg is comprehensively updated to protect our communities, they are going to be targeted by developers for whatever is going to make them the most money in that minute and that is the truth isn’t it?
Also to be noted is there are many many West Whiteland residents who are concerned about the potential supersizing of this data center. They had to deal with this developer when he wanted to put a hydrogen hub right next to their park right in the same area. And that didn’t happen because the residents and supervisors stood up and took action.
In my humble opinion, the supervisors in East Whiteland need to be on the same page as the residents when it comes to data centers. If that developer wants to improve technology, that is mutually beneficial to all or tweak design on plan size approved, that is one thing, and it’s something they should want to do for their bottom line in the future, right? But we are already seeing changes in our power grid from data centers. We run the risk of having well water polluted by these data centers. There are other ways it is harmful to the environment and then there is the sheer noise. So East Whiteland approved a data center and it’s not up and running yet so there is no actual proof that is supersizing is needed at this juncture, is there? It is a developer want, it is not a developer need in my opinion and I’m allowed to have that.
I also of the opinion that we cannot depend on the planning commission to say no to this. I don’t think they have the knowledge necessary to do anything other than pass it along with a rubber stamp. In my opinion, I think they are all going to say unless people turn out and protest that “oh it’s OK. It’s better for people. It’ll bring lots of business and tax revenue” or whatever platitudes get blown up people’s rear ends and there’s no proof that it will do any of those things, but that’s what they’re told isn’t it?
This is who is on the planning commission:
Deborah Abel, Chair Todd Asousa, Vice Chair Bob Logan Bill Wrabley John Laumer Tim Kelly Jaime Damiani
Go to https://www.eastwhiteland.org/ for more information on this project and for telephone numbers and email addresses, etc.
This was a superfund site – EPA- Foote Mineral. The planning commission should know that you can’t just come in with a resubmission like this- it has to start the clock again with a resubmission- where is the impact study? What is the complete feasibility? Planning needs to restart the clock if the developer wishes to expand, isn’t that a truism? Who inspects? Who is the monitoring agency? So many variables.
I just saw this photo (minus the X) posted elsewhere. I feel compelled to address it because it’s the kind of messaging that is counterproductive to protecting our communities and the environment.
It’s the kind of messaging we get from some politicians talking out both sides of their mouth, and from the industry itself, giving false assurance that they won’t pollute or deplete our resources because there are strict environmental regulations in place.
It’s false.
We don’t HAVE anywhere close to adequate rules in place to protect our air and water from this buildout of AI data centers and power plants to fuel them – not to mention protect climate and communities.
Workers? These hyper scale data centers create very few jobs once built – and the intent is to eliminate workers.
And we have a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection that has a history of turning a blind eye to violations by certain industries. And it’s led by a Secretary who has been engaged in backroom dealmaking with these corporations and has promised to deliver Amazon with the “highest level of service, accountability and urgency to meet their project needs”. (See letter in comments obtained through a RTK request.
Let’s not pretend the situation in Pennsylvania is anything different.
And what Ginny said was similarly said by a dear friend today who keeps asking Harrisburg WHO is responsible for watching Data Centers? WHO is the monitoring agency? I mean those who live with the PA DEPs inconsistency in their communities know this is a problem. WHO watches and who watchdogs the entities who are supposed to watch?
Also from Ginny:
Oh, and my opinions are bought to me by the First Amendment. They haven’t repealed that yet as far as I know.
Those bastards in Limerick. I have no pretty words for Limerick Township, Montgomery County, PA.
I got the call this morning and half an hour ago this was posted on Facebook:
190 years of history
7 years of battles
4 hours to be erased
Today, the Hood Mansion was torn down. We were able to rescue the date stone and a few interior pieces – the rest will end up in a landfill.
We were given less than 24 hours notice of the permit being filed – this comes after the property was recently sold yet again to another shell corporation based out of the Bronx.
It will be replaced with a data center warehouse – yet to be officially approved. More on that later.
All of us here at EPPS have worked tirelessly since 2017 to save this incredible piece of American history on a shoestring budget. This is a tragic failure in our country to continue to allow pieces of our shared past to be erased for corporate interests that contribute nothing to our sense of place and community. Preservationists aren’t magicians, and it takes many parties working together to try and save what we can. Unfortunately it’s difficult if not impossible to fight the corporate machine.
We can rest easy knowing we gave it our best shot up until the very end, but as a great friend and mentor of mine once said about the field of preservation:
“You’ll lose more than you save”
Thank you to everyone who has supported us in this fight for many years, and a heartfelt apology to the Hood Family, whose contributions to our society clearly didn’t matter enough to the powers that be.
Please stay tuned to our pages for an additional press release.
So hopefully now the data center and environmental activists wake the hell up about what is happening in Limerick. Thus far they have been strangely silent given the environmental impacts.
Congratulations Limerick Township you feckless bunch of nitwits. You have just taken a step closer to making your area like Louden County, Virginia and all it entails. Hope the realtors who brokered these deals choke on the commissions.
I am really sorry Hood Mansion. We all tried. Please tell your spirits to haunt away.
Sorry folks, it has been a busy day. Received official word from East Whiteland regarding the data center of it all. After that I will share the article that prompted this:
In response to recent articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily Local News, where the Township was asked to provide comments and a status update regarding recent data center proposals, below is a statement from East Whiteland Township:
To date, no land development application has been received by the Township and there have been no revisions to the previously approved Zoning Hearing Board application to permit the data center usage at the properties located along the south side of Swedesford Road near the border with West Whiteland Township.
Also, it is important to note to our residents and businesses that the Board of Supervisors of East Whiteland Township has no interest in entertaining a proposal for a hydrogen power plant within our Township. We are aware of the zoning activities in our neighboring Township and will continue to monitor the situation.
Scott Lambert, Chair of East Whiteland Township Supervisors
So to West Whiteland Supervisor Raj Kumbhardare, is a bit of a puzzle here. Supervisor Raj should have more to say more than his evasiveness in The Daily Local News about carts and horse, right? Supervisor Raj as a day job is in database administration so is there anything in this for him? Not being mean but does he care about all of his constituency equally? After all this issue is bigger than computer and database type professionals being excited that the data center is coming, right? And then there is the wondering if he really understands the zoning and how zoning doesn’t exist in a little bubble or vacuum and these changes could potentially have far-reaching changes for the township he is supposed to serve equally to his best efforts so??? I am not saying he’s not a good guy I am asking reasonable questions. I am also wondering how is feeling about carts and horse right now??
And my favorite angry lame duck supervisor is mums the word on this? Why? Rather odd considering….she’s always so pithy, yes?
Anyway, East Whiteland is not being shy about how they seem to be feeling, do they?
Also do not forget this hopeful piece from September, 2022:
