Data centers are on the menu, although no agenda or zoom link is out yet. If anything changes this blog will let you know as soon as I know.
It’s an oldie, but goodie that meetings that are crucially important are often held around major holiday times or the dead of summer.
If you are in a neighboring municipality, encourage your elected officials to send representation because this will affect you. This data center is not going to be in a bubble and won’t just affect East Whiteland residents.
East Whiteland Township is located at 209 Conestoga Road, Malvern PA 19355.
Soooo we recently learned about certain formerly ranking Great Valley Democrats (one who was actually the former vice chair of the Chesco Dems) were running around having hissy fits about East Whiteland Township residents circulating a petition with signatures to get a ballot question on the ballot.
The question was (and I am paraphrasing) was along the lines of should East Whiteland Township add two more supervisors? Under the Second Class Township code you can increase representation.
Sadly, this hissy fit included basically bullying a female resident who’s also a small business owner, and how is that behavior ok?)
So these men, Bill Holmes and Jerry Pyne, went to where residents were gathering signatures to object. They acted like it was a threat to democracy instead of what it really was, which is democracy in action.
Super sad and misogynistic behavior is so Welcome to Stepford isn’t it?
Anyway, it makes you wonder what the motivation is doesn’t it? I think a lot of it has to do with control. I don’t think it’s as much of fear that a Republican may get back on the board, as a fear of losing control.
Are we all just puppets on this bus of these political toadstools?
I was thinking about it and lo and behold it made me wonder even more when an email reached me from 2023. An email no one was looking for, it showed up in a bulk right to know request response.
Note the highlighted area at the bottom:
This email is a chat discussing the EW and WW data center with backup generation for the data center. I do not want the part to be labeled as against business!
So yeah, who is the author of this email? Wouldn’t that be one Jerry Pyne?
Oh Jerry, it’s not too hard to figure out when this email was written. It was around the time that residents wanted West Whiteland to say no to a hydrogen hub to go with the developers desire for a data center, wasn’t it? (West Whiteland did say no, remember?)
I mean it’s so funny. This email chain started like literally I guess a couple days after that big Inquirer article came out?
Precious.
Let’s review what I have been told by those who were doing RTK requests then:
This was a January 2023 email from Jerry Pyne, an East Whiteland Democratic Committee Person, and at that time, Vice Chair of the county Democrats was included in the response to a RTK request (on an unrelated issue) to the Township. The email comes on the heels of a Philadelphia Inquirer article about Charlie Lyddane’s ongoing attempts to build a hyper scale data center in East Whiteland and his attempt to change zoning in West Whiteland for data centers and power plants.
Jerry Pyne forwarded to Democrat County commissioners Marian and Josh and Township supervisor Scott Lambert (using his township email address ) an email discussion between fellow EW Democrat committee people who were discussing their concerns for impacts to the environment, quality of life and place, energy resources, etc.
But Jerry Pyne’s concern was different: “I do not want the part[y] to be labelled as anti business!” That was his concern. Not the impact this development would have on the community and the environment.
I have heard that the recent Great Valley Democrat meeting held at the East Whiteland Township Building did have some chatter about data centers. But they haven’t taken a position. And they also haven’t taken a position at this point on the desire for East Whiteland residents to get a ballot question out there on the ballot for the fall about increasing the size of the East Whiteland Township Supetvisors’ board.
I have a suggestion for the Great Valley Democrats. My suggestion is simple. They need to distance from these people publicly. They should not even have the optics out there that they might be supporting these efforts on bothering residents about having their opinions on data centers and whether it should be three or five supervisors. And the key words is they need to take a public position. No hiding, no why can’t we all get along. They need to tell people they don’t support misogynistic bullying behavior that is in my opinion anti-democracy.
And oh hell, yes I can have that opinion. And it makes you wonder who Jerry was talking to about what before he decided to contact everybody back then?
So yes, data centers in our communities are uncovering all sorts of interesting issues.
It’s uncovering how nasty these political types are getting if there’s any threat to their power structure or what they think is best at the expense of all the other residents.
Chester County, it is time for a change in both political parties. These political parties need to shut their mouths and need to sit down and listen to what is bothering the plurality.
I’m sure this issue will continue to unfold. But I thought for now this email was simply too precious not to share. Time for Jerry Pyne and Bill Holmes and others to retire.
And darling Jerry and Bill? Remember my opinions are bought to you courtesy of the First Amendment. And other political types out there? Don’t let these issues be your Waterloo. The times they are a changing IMHO.
These issues facing our communities involve everyone. Stop playing party politics (poorly).
I figure I should mention this because God knows if East Whiteland will wake up to look out for her residents who will be affected by this plan. This may also affect other nearby residents in East Goshen Township and even West Goshen Township.
Look I have known since Weston started to exit as a company that this property would be developed. I’m grateful it’s not a giant warehouse or a data center. This property was re-zoned in 2024 to allow residential development.
My personal opinion is the development is still too dense. But my personal opinion doesn’t mean a hill of sheit here and I know that.
My main concern is this development’s access on West King Rd. There needs to be a traffic light at Weston Way and W. King Rd. If there is not a traffic light at Weston Way and W. King Rd. residents of East Whiteland and West Whiteland are screwed.
It is already incredibly difficult a lot of days to get out of driveways and side streets onto W. King Rd. So Willow Hill Development Group, my opinion is you are making enough money that you can request a traffic signal here.
I should also note for people who have been interested here and there and what happens at Weston that it sounds like there’s going to be some kind of egress or driveway from Phoenixville Pike?
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got.
No one wants more residential development anymore than warehouses or data centers. But until elected officials in Harrisburg, get off their collective asses and comprehensively update the municipalities planning code which takes an act of the state constitution that will never happen.
The plan is down to 49 houses and 6 apartment type units, I guess in the old mansion. honestly that is tremendously better from where this first started. It’s like 53 acres give or take.
Like I said, they could have neon pink houses on this property for all I care as long as there’s a traffic light at King Road and Weston Way.
I have had to play this little tape over and over because I wanted to make sure I heard it properly. And what I heard is the master plan for the Exton Mall that the supervisors in West Whiteland had in place has just been completely undone by the Zoning Hearing Board and their solicitor?
I have literally got nothing because I just don’t understand. I do believe according to the average process that comes to play here, if the Board of Supervisors wish to appeal, legally they can.
I really don’t understand. But it lends itself to another conversation about solicitors. There’s a big one going on in East Whiteland for example over data centers.
There seems to be contretemps that is ongoing in Tredyffrin Township.
In Westtown, it’s a state of chaos as they just dismissed the entire historic commission.
Now, what do West Whiteland, Westtown, and Tredyffrin have in common? Would it be that they all use Gawthrop Greenwood for main solicitor or zoning?
For Westtown and Tredyffrin they specifically use Patrick McKenna, Esq. West Whiteland is a little different. They use “Gawthrop Greenwood” as the zoning hearing board solicitors. They don’t specify on West Whiteland’s website but it seems to be Patrick McKenna and or his wife Stacey Fuller also with the same firm, correct?
Of course, the other thing with West Whiteland’s Zoning Hearing Board is you don’t know who’s speaking half of the time because the zoning hearing board members do not introduce themselves at the beginning of the meeting and neither does the solicitor.
Anyway, I didn’t see this covered in the media at all so hopefully this prompts them to look into this because doesn’t it seem unusual?
It’s hard NOT to think about data centers. We are living this nightmare, just like pipelines. It is a very crazy thing to realize not enough people in positions of power give a shit about residents in the equation of data centers.
In East Whiteland they never, ever should have said “yes”. The could have IMHO said freaking NO.
In East Whiteland if the supervisors would only find where exactly they left their collective balls, they could still say “no”. But will they? So far it’s the residents are wrong and Papa Government is right.
I am not buying it. It’s like living in a parallel universe, but then again this is the township who few years ago also thought pipelines were nothing to bother about. Of course it doesn’t matter apparently that their residents are still in blast zones.
But the other thing is this: the zoning officer guy for the township (not the zoning hearing board lawyer) was disappeared…in MAY. And WHY? Did he retire? Was he ill? We would have heard right? So what actually happened? And OMG they did NOT like being asked why he was gone and why the current assistant manager was chosen? She was the former manager of East Vincent when the zoning change went through for PENNHURST, correct? What are some of the concerns with how the East Whiteland data center came about? The ZONING. Sorry not sorry. This is how conspiracy theories start and have some actual justification don’t they?
This is exhausting. How do our elected officials except for people like State Senator Katie Muth NOT get data centers? They are getting it in Luzerne County. Look what they just did:
There is no law on the books that precludes the East Whiteland from saying no to this or anything else but it just has to be legal, right? The supervisors need to believe what they are doing is right and tell the solicitor and staff to find a way but they don’t, do they? Why don’t they argue the supremacy clause to the US Constitution, for example? They are the government and protecting the residents is the right side of this issue, right? Hows about procedural due process right?
Now Judge Verwey bounced an East Whiteland residents’ case yesterday (just one of them) but that is not bad I think because is it quite possibly not merely a procedural bounce but what lawyers will call a complex jurisdictional? Will this not result in a de novo hearing in Commonwealth Court? De novo means a fresh look, doesn’t it? So this was a move on a chess board, not the end of the story. (Maybe just my opinion, but I am allowed it.)
The entry way for Commonwealth Court is Common Pleas Court, correct?
If this was a bad case it would have gotten bounced at preliminary objections. A hearing was had, briefed, argued, yes?
Based on this, this is not a case you consider on the outset, you do it based upon the hearing, correct? Off it goes to be heard elsewhere.
This is why I think this has legs. Maybe just my opinion, but those are some thoughts. This was a case of first impression yes? And it wasn’t immediately bounced in the hearing was it? Verwey chewed on it, and then decided.
The government is an adverse party to the citizenry because they should have looked after the residents, right?
It makes me sad. I was thinking about all of this the other day. I actually drove out to the developments the other day to sit on their road and look across Swedesford at the location for the data center. How can they not see this is most simply put a bad plan? Here are some photos. A few were taken by the neighbor of the permits.
If you would like to donate to the legal fund for the data center group, no donation is too small. Here is a link: https://venmo.com/u/communityfriends
Stay cool, it’s hot outside and try to conserve water as we are in a drought warning. Last thought? How would we survive serious drought warnings with data center around here? In my humble opinion, we wouldn’t.
From a RTK request results Ginny Kerslake received
Put that in your proverbial pipe and smoke it. The devil is in the details East Whiteland residents (and neighbors.) Keep fighting.
I don’t know how or IF this fits together but these are BOTH publicly accessible documents. Someone sent me the federal court record was sent to me and it has a similar name in it is on the data center application???
Whiteland Holdings LP.???
Are they talking about the same property? Apparently they are? So I don’t know what to do with all of that, but it made me go look at the property records and I found something else interesting.
What did I find? That was interesting how about a New York address now for Green Fig?
So they were described to us as being from New Jersey, but it’s really New York? Maybe I misheard? Take a look at this link and you will see the guy that spoke at the data center planning commission meeting.
Approximately location where I saw all of the police cars
I obviously couldn’t stop and take a picture where they wouldn’t have been thrilled with but earlier today there were about six West Whiteland police cars on Burke Road on the side of the road where it’s like a little trail and stuff?
I had just turned off of S. Whitford Rd. onto Burke and I saw lights. I slowed down because I thought oh boy another tree had fallen because there are big trees that go smoosh across the road there from time to time.
But there were literally a bunch of police cars. I don’t know if all of them were West Whiteland or if some were other agencies?
I don’t think whatever happened was good and it wasn’t a car accident. It was something in the woods.
And I remember one or two of the officers looked up at me as I was driving by and their faces were quite somber.
I was told by some people that a couple was walking on a trail and came upon a person who had ended their own life. I don’t know who or why or the age, somebody said they thought they were on the young side, which is so sad.
It just shows you once again what a mental health crisis exists in this country. And in this area, if you could get an appointment, there are therapists, but there’s not really the inpatient availability that used to exist even on a temporary basis.
Someone else came through there after I had gone through and there was a coroner’s vehicle added to the assortment of law-enforcement.
Say a prayer for whoever that was and their family.
And I will tell you another little story that I remembered with astounding clarity after so many years yesterday.
This memory, I believe was triggered by the faces of a couple of the members of law-enforcement looking up as I went by, and it was one of those weird slow motion things where you caught the look on their faces which again was totally somber. It wasn’t the normal look. I don’t know how to explain it.
I couldn’t get the look out of my head so that is what made me look for information which was out there publicly.
Driving by made me think of my freshman year in college. I had a nightmare roommate first semester freshman year, but there was no room in our suite for me to go into another bedroom so the RA’s found a single room that had opened up in an upper class person suite on the first floor of the same dorm. Obviously I took it because that was like dorm gold: a single room in a more quiet suite.
Flash forward to right before parents’ weekend and I don’t remember when I went to sleep. It wasn’t particularly late because it was kind of a chill night since so many people‘s parents were showing up that Saturday.
And then I was woken up at some point in the middle of the night by lights coming through the blinds in my room, and I looked outside and it was somebody I knew, actually one of the first people I met freshman year because I had arrived early for field hockey. He had jumped out of his girlfriend’s window in a suite above. It was only a four story building. What I don’t remember now is if it was the third or fourth floor.
He was still alive when he fell because it really wasn’t (I guess) that high or something, so I have that whole visual forever burned in my brain of paramedics and fire and police putting this guy on a stretcher and taking him to the hospital where he was on life-support a brief time and then gone.
It’s been how many decades and I can still see it in my minds eye? Of course, the other terrible thing about that event is I found out later on at an high school class reunion that he was some kind of a cousin to one of my classmates.
And the thing about somebody thinking of killing themselves is they really aren’t thinking about the people whom they are leaving behind and how it will affect them. In a sense it’s a rather selfish act. Perhaps you think I’m harsh for saying that, but that’s how I feel.
Another thing I know I will never forget about the after shocks of this was the student run memorial service afterwards in the quad. There was that bad PA system that was somewhat portable and it was warm and I watched a lot of the people around me who never knew the kid. That was sort of a surreal experience remembered in more of a slow motion than it was because I was wondering at the time how they were mourning someone they never knew? And then I remember another weird thing they had like a portable stereo outside in the quad and somebody played Genesis “follow you, follow me.”
And here I am utterly middle-aged and when I drove past that scene yesterday I remembered it all again. And all I kept thinking was the people on that trail who found this person. Because this is something when you come upon something like this, you will never forget. Just like whoever this is, they left a family behind who will never forget.
I had some guy judging because I wrote about this and I didn’t disclose any non-public information. I have no idea who it was or how old they were, just that it happened and what made me look to find out what happened was the almost visceral reaction I had driving past the scene.
So again say prayers for the friends and family this person left behind, and think good thoughts about the people who stumbled upon this through no fault of their own, and the law-enforcement and first responders , who had to deal with it.
And to our elected officials out there, not only do we need another hospital in Chester County, but the region needs actual mental health services as well that everyone can access in times of need.
As means of a postscript, I received a note from this young man’s mother and I would like to share what she said in her comment which is public on this post and my response to her that explains why I wrote about this and what exactly what I saw and why it made me feel compelled to write.
My verbatim email:
Dear Terry,
I rarely respond to comments personally but I do believe that you deserve that. First of all I am sorry about your son.
The scene I saw contained NO body. It was just law enforcement. It was the poses and the body language of the law enforcement on the scene – no coroner’s wagon etc. just regular law enforcement. THAT is what I would have taken a photo of had I driven by as a passenger, and not as a driver.
You have to understand at that point, I had no idea what had happened. There are a lot of accidents around there and honestly when it is really windy around there I don’t even drive Burke Road because of all the trees that come down.
The body language especially their facial expressions is something I will never forget. I am not trying to upset you, I am trying to tell you WHY it struck me and I went digging through the 911 recordings and the accident as it showed up on Pulse Point.
It was a weird slow motion kind of thing that was just a blink of a moment so to speak- like when they run a slow motion scene in a movie. It’s only a few seconds, but feels longer.
When I realized later what had happened, I also realized why it struck a chord. I had seen facial expressions like that before, only the scene was more than what I saw last week. That time, it was 1982 and a 19 year old boy I knew freshman year in college. It wasn’t a person I had dated, just someone I knew from around campus, one of the literally first people I met when I first stepped foot on campus. No one knew why.
That is why I wrote about this. It is the whole not knowing if you knew the person. Young men keep it tucked away inside. Your son made me remember something I should never have forgotten. There are not enough resources for mental health and definitely not enough for young men. Heck we still live in a society where boys aren’t supposed to cry.
I don’t know if you care about my thoughts, but I wanted you to understand clearly what I saw and why I wrote.
I can’t even begin to imagine how you feel. No mother should ever go through what you are going through and I am truly sorry.
Yes, it’s a dead Rite Aide but if West Goshen has their way TONIGHT they will push to change the zoning and make it a car wash??? Allow me to quote West Goshen Sunshine and Hello West Chester verbatim (I do not think they will mind):
A Sunshine Report heads-up: West Goshen Board of Supervisors will hear a Zoning amendment tied to the former Rite Aid site on Phoenixville Pike at tonight’s annual organizational meeting.
The amendment, if approved, would permit a car wash to open at 1307 Phoenixville Pike. Under the Township’s current Zoning Ordinance, car washes are only permitted by Conditional Use in the C-5 General Highway Commercial Zoning District. This section of Phoenixville Pike is part of the C-1 Neighborhood Commercial Zoning District.
The request is being advanced in connection with a proposed redevelopment by Spotless Car Wash Brands. The site is owned by Peter Kathopoulis, of 92 Victory Investments of Upper Darby, PA.
The meeting is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the West Goshen Township building. Approval of this zoning amendment could expand where car washes are allowed township-wide.
No meeting minutes for real for real so trying to sneak it in much West Goshen? There was a blip in November with this but then NOTHING. Can’t find any old minutes or plans and that is anti sunshine (for a change) and sleazy.
I am REALLY familiar with this intersection. Why? Because PECO or AQUA or PENNDOT has had W. King Road Closed for so long between Ship and Boot, I go through there once a week on average. It’s a busy, difficult intersection with others near by that West Goshen because when you cross over it goes towards Fern Hill and the hospital stuff and Greystone development. A spit away is West Whiteland Township and I don’t know any residents who knew about this there!
And let’s talk environmental impacts from car wash runoff?
Oh and look at their traffic study and other comparables …. Maryland AND Virginia??? OH COME ON.
For years, we have watched the former faculty housing for Church Farm teachers deteriorate. No that’s not the fault of the school, the land was sold decades ago at this point.
I have followed it here on my blog and so have many in the community. The land has been for sale and vacant forever and we knew this development was coming.
The development is 55 and over so it won’t be putting kids in the school district. It’ll be like a Hershey’s Mill in West Whiteland. However it’s rather dense, and it is yet another reason why in my opinion, whatever happens at the Exton Square Mall needs to have less density. It’s so much development not too far apart.
And even if the mall developer and his attorney, don’t like my opinion, I’m allowed to have it.
Anyway, it’s New Year’s Eve 2025 and the development has begun. 
I wish this was less density here because I do not know where all these developers think we are going to put and care for all these additional people? We don’t even have a hospitals to care for our residents now. (Of course this is also why I think that the Exton Square Mall would be the perfect site for a new hospital but developers won’t make enough money on a new hospital will they? What do they care about us getting sick? )
So again, it’s not like this wasn’t approved or we didn’t know it was coming. It’s been very much out there. But it is quite jarring to see the land stripped bare bit by bit as this development begins.
On New Year’s Eve I’m going to make my last play of the year for lawmakers and Harrisburg to get off their asses and do a comprehensive update of the municipalities planning code. There hasn’t been one since it arrived circa 1969 and as I have said innumerable times before, that’s what gave us Chesterbrook.
I’m going to share some of my old photos taken over years past for many years, and a little video compilation.
First the photos:
These were at one time really nice little houses. They could’ve remained nice little houses as starter homes or step down homes for people downsizing.
Developer Eli Kahn at 12/1/25 Tredyffrin Supervisors Meeting
So this is an interesting one at the end of the supervisors’ meeting last evening, Tredyffrin Township’s bumbling and inefficient zoning officer (I am entitled to my opinion and I’m being understated because I don’t understand why she has a job, but I digress) pops up rather nervously to announce to the supervisors that are developer was there with essentially a problem.
What was the problem? Something to do with the sewer and how his workforce housing project was essentially being potentially charged too much if it goes forward the way it is for sewer capacity they’re not going to use, right?
Here is the recording of that portion of the meeting:
I don’t understand how it was just sort of popped on the agenda like this do you? I’m not saying he shouldn’t be heard because he should be heard, and this is a developer whose projects I am not generally speaking fond of, but when you listen to this meeting snippet, do you really think he’s wrong? I actually don’t. (Shocker, right?)
This project was introduced at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025:
So this is a trend we’ve seen being proposed in other municipalities and not just by this developer. It’s all about redeveloping these old commercial properties and these office buildings that have become obsolete whales and making them into living units, and in some cases, schools?
So I have to ask are we potentially replacing one problem with another problem? To be clear l, I’m not saying I’m against workforce housing if it actually happens. But I also look at these plans for this housing and so many of the units are these little itty-bitty things so what about workforce housing for families?
But I’m not going off on that tangent today that’s just something I think about. We definitely need affordable housing for all stages of life, but do we really need more apartments? I keep asking that question.
So the reason Eli Kahn went to Tredyffrin has to do with sewer. And sewer capacity and what he is paying for. It’s an interesting conversation. Listen to the video. So he’s telling the supervisors that they have problems in their sewer fee structures I guess? Basically he’s saying it’s not a one-size-fits-all?
I find it interesting, just like I find it. Interesting how it all kind of got plopped at the end of this meeting.
What is it with sewer fees and sewer capacity and municipalities out here so you have the thing that West Goshen Sunshine uncovered that’s on her Facebook page about fees paying health insurance bills of supervisors?
And then, of course, we have West Whiteland Township, trying to do the right thing for residents being sued by the Exton Mall developer and why? If there isn’t really sewer capacity, how should they be able to build as much? I don’t understand. it’s not like that’s the only problem on that site is there? Not enough parking correct? Too many houses for the area because of the density already existing correct?
