Penn Forest Data Center Updates

06/01/2026

You're invited - mark your calendar and plan to attend this Substantive Validity Challenge hearing regarding an allegation of spot zoning. The key issue is that whether the Township applied a planning methodology when deciding where to place the data center overlay map. Civic engagement and understanding what's happening in our community are essential. Please join us!

06/01/2026

Here are the new SVC dates!

Update!

The Penn Forest Township Zoning Hearing Board has granted a continuance to J. William Fontaine for the hearing originally scheduled on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026. The new hearing date is Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 6:30 PM at Penn Forest Twp Volunteer Fire Co #1.

The Zoning Hearing Board has also granted a continuance to Queen of Peace Missionaries/Plainfield Solar for the hearing originally scheduled on Thursday, June 4th, 2026. The new hearing date is Thursday, June 25th, at 6:30PM at Penn Forest Twp Volunteer Fire Co #1.

06/01/2026

Ordinances are a necessity. 💚

Oh the irony...

05/31/2026

Coral knows what's up. 💚💚💚 You can pick up a sign AND produce at Reillys Produce LLC. Did you know they have more than produce? Depending on the day, they also have bread, dairy products, and miscellaneous homemade items from local artisans - and the quality of everything is top notch.

05/31/2026

Our neighbors could use our help. Please attend.

05/30/2026

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: All persons wishing to be Party to this hearing must give notice of appearance to the Zoning Hearing Board. This is a public hearing and will follow protocol for legal testimony by parties with standing, professional witnesses and other persons called to testify. Any residual public comment will be at the conclusion of on-record testimony with a 3-minute time limit. (𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐃𝐨𝐭: This case may continue over multiple hearing dates and public comment will occur after the testimony and evidence have been presented.)

05/29/2026

UPDATE: Wednesday’s hearing has been rescheduled!

The Penn Forest Township Zoning Hearing Board has granted a continuance to J. William Fontaine, for the hearing originally scheduled on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. The new date has been set for Wednesday, June 24 at 6:30 PM at the Penn Forest Township Vol. Fire Co. #1.

All persons wishing to be party to this hearing must give notice of appearance to the Zoning Hearing Board.
This is a public hearing and will follow protocol for legal testimony by parties with standing, professional witnesses and other persons called to testify. Any residual public comment will be at the conclusion of on-record testimony with a 3 minute time limit.

Audrey Wargo, Chairperson of Penn Forest Township Zoning Hearing Board

05/29/2026

RESCHEDULED to June 24: The June 3 hearing concerns a challenge to the data center ordinance the Township adopted in March.

The argument is essentially that the Township may have solved one legal problem by creating another. Fontaine claims the data center overlay was placed in an inappropriate location and amounts to spot zoning. However, the challenger has the burden of proving that the map was arbitrary or unreasonable, not simply that residents dislike it or that it includes land zoned residential.

This matters because the map is a key part of the ordinance. If the map were found legally defective, it could jeopardize the ordinance that was intended to confine data centers to a specific area rather than leave the Township exposed under the original Mele Brothers challenge.

This situation was not created by the Township. It is the result of state zoning laws, the original Mele Brothers challenge, and subsequent challenges by Fontaine and Culp-Keller. The legal issues are complex, and there are many opinions circulating online. I encourage residents to attend the June 3 hearing and hear the testimony for themselves. The Township is trying to manage land use within the framework it has been given, while multiple parties are challenging that framework from different directions.