Bethlehem to Review Zoning Amendment for Data Centers at Aug. 25 Meeting (Correction)

(Corrects venture partner name to Blackstone in fourth paragraph.)

Aug. 19, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

Bethlehem’s Planning Commission will review a zoning amendment covering data centers at its Aug. 25 meeting.

Bethlehem is one of many towns across the U.S. that are trying to rein in data centers, which house vast computer systems serving big companies and providing processing power for Artificial Intelligence.

Right now, the centers and AI are unpopular. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro just issued limits on the centers, but that probably won’t stop people from fearing noise, higher power prices and water shortages.

Meanwhile, Allentown-based utility PPL is working with Blackstone to develop power generation to serve data centers. PPL Chief Executive Vincent Sorgi has predicted Pennsylvania will not impose a moratorium on the centers.

Residents across the Lehigh Valley are objecting to the centers, while some people view them as essential. Data centers are not entirely new, but what used to be known as “server farms” are now bigger, more powerful and consume more energy.

The Planning Commission does not make final decisions on zoning changes. Those are up to City Council.

As a city memo on the commission’s agenda notes, “the Planning Commission is responsible for reviewing proposed zoning text amendments and providing a recommendation to City Council.”

Here is a link to the proposed amendment, and below, a snippet of the memo from the city, which is seeking the zoning change to catch up with the technology:

The proposed amendment to Article 1302 adds a definition for “Data Center,” which is not currently defined in the Zoning Ordinance.
The proposed amendments to Article 1305 establish the zoning districts in which Data Centers are permitted. Data Centers would not be permitted in the Light Industrial (LI) or Planned Industrial (PI) Districts and would be permitted by Special Exception (SE) in the Industrial (IN) District, including the Industrial Overlay (IN-O) District.
The proposed amendments to Article 1322 establish regulations specific to the Data Center use.
These provisions require applicants to submit applicable plans, studies, evaluations, and mitigation strategies at time of application and establish site design standards, including minimum setbacks based on the characteristics of nearby properties, as well as maximum building height, minimum yard, minimum buffer yard, and maximum building coverage requirements.

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The Bethlehem Planning Commission will meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, in Town Hall. Agendas are subject to change. Check the city website tab for “Community Meetings” closer to the date.

Disclosure: I own shares in PPL and in some of the big data-center companies, but when I bought those shares, the companies were known more for consumer electronics, digital commerce and making computer chips for games.