Officials to address data centers
Residents crowd inside Hazle Township Commons for Monday’s meeting.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
A Hazleton resident at the podium wears a ‘Project Hazlenot’ T-shirt to show her opposition to Project Hazlenut.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Attorney Donald Karpowich speaks during Monday’s meeting.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
HAZLE TWP. — Hazle Township supervisors during a meeting Monday voted to declare parts of the zoning ordinance invalid for not addressing data centers, giving the township time to draft up regulations for the facilities.
The board unanimously voted for the resolution during a standing-room-only meeting at Hazle Township Commons, which will put a limited 180-day moratorium in place during which time the township, including the planning commission, will put together a curative amendment to address data centers and data center accessory uses.
Attorney Donald Karpowich, who is serving as conflict counsel to the supervisors in all matters related to data centers, including Northpoint’s Project Hazlenut, stated that no one else will be able to challenge the township’s zoning ordinance during that 180-day period.
Residents who would like to comment on or make suggestions to the amendment addressing data centers can attend future planning commission meetings, where it will be discussed.
The Hazle Township Planning Commission usually meets at 6 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month. Meeting agendas can be found on the Hazle Township website under the category “Meeting Dates.”
Additionally, a public hearing on the ordinance will be held before it is voted on.
The decision at Monday’s meeting came nearly a week after a Luzerne County judge denied an appeal by developer NP Hazleton Logistics, an offshoot of Northpoint Development, for its Project Hazlenut data center complex.
Hazle Township in November 2025 denied land development approval for the project, a proposed 15-building data center on a 1,280-acre site near the Humboldt Industrial Park’s north zone.
In her decision, Karpowich said Judge Lesa Gelb agreed with the township that the case should go before the township zoning hearing board, where the developer could submit an application for a special exception for the data center complex since the zoning ordinance does not address data centers.
However, the zoning ordinance does contain a provision that any use not addressed can be approved by special exception.
The project not having that special exception approval was one of the reasons the land development plan was rejected back in November, the attorney said.
Karpowich said at Monday’s meeting that the developer has not submitted an application to the zoning hearing board, but if it did, a hearing would have to be held, during which the public could offer comment.
When asked by a resident about the $30 million community development package Northpoint said it is offering the township to “help offset potential short-term localized utility rate increases” for township residential customers and pay for “other community-directed initiatives,” the supervisors said they were aware of it, but hadn’t discussed it.
About a dozen people who attended Monday’s meeting wore yellow T-shirts that said “Project Hazlenot” to show their opposition to the project.
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