Bensalem Puts “Curative Amendment” into Play on AI Data Centers

Bensalem Township officials put into play last week a curative process and plan on how to address the ever increasing and growing concerns about AI Data Centers seeking to court the municipality for land development approvals on any future projects.

Ongoing Data Center projects have become a hot topic issue with community concerns focusing on the potential use and abuse of local and state resources and private utilities causing resident costs to rise.

Recently Sam Altman CEO of Open AI has openly said he seeks to capitalize on the lack of definitive code regulated definitions on what an AI Data Center really is operationally in terms of zoning and code enforcement.

Altman recently said he envisions a future where artificial intelligence functions like a public utility, such as electricity or running water. Instead of flat monthly subscriptions, consumers and businesses would plug into a centralized intelligence grid and purchase AI on a “meter,” paying strictly based on their usage and the computing required.

Bensalem officials have closely watched the AI Data Center issue come front and center.

Council President Edward Tokmajian Jr. said as a member of the county planning commission he’s been keeping an eye on the data center issue development in Falls Twp. Tokmajian said he approached the township solicitor, about drafting an ordinance so Bensalem can address potential data center concerns.

Solicitor Joseph Pizzo said there is no specific definition township ordinance at this time to define a data center as we’ve come to know it in the last handful of years. Pizzo said he gathered information and went to the county planning commission, which provided Bensalem officials with some insight into what they’ve been working on.

Statewide there are currently no laws have actually been adopted that specifically govern data centers. However, as a result of the recent fire storm, Governor Josh Shapiro last month released the Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) initiative to establish strict standards that data centers must comply with to receive support from the Commonwealth.

The Shapiro Administration is also rolling out the new local government toolkit through the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services (GCLGS) to help municipalities navigate data center proposals and make informed decisions that work best for their communities.

Legislatively speaking, there are about 16 AI Data Center specific measures that have come before lawmakers in Harrisburg. They address an array of community/governmental concerns; where they can be located, how they impact on power, and what local municipalities can do. In one case, one of the bills would call for a moratorium on the construction of data centers.

According to Spotlight PA, the House has passed bills recently focused on regulating the massive data center projects popping up across the state.

The proposals range, the report says, from a mandate to disclose energy and water usage to a requirement that data centers pay into energy assistance programs. All four passed with at least some bipartisan support. But they face a major hurdle: A top lawmaker in the Republican-controlled state Senate says he doesn’t “think we should be looking at individual bills right now” on data centers.

One recent measure of interest comes from state Senator Katie Muth (D-Chester) who published a memorandum  seeking cosponsors for a bill that would amend the Public Utility Code to prohibit data centers from obtaining a Certificate of Public Convenience and becoming utilities. The proposed measure has yet to gain any co-sponsors, as of June 15.

Credit: Submitted

During the public comment section of the meeting there were impassioned pleas for Council to act and protect residents from the ever looming presence of AI Data centers coming into Bensalem.

Emily Rose Patz said, during the public comment section on the curative amendment, residents want “Data Center Protections” to be put into place.

We request updates to zoning that make our town from the empty storefronts to the desolate industrial spaces in the township “untouchable” to data center developers, Patz implored Council.

I am here today asking you (Council) to do something radical, Patz said, tell big tech no, Bensalem belongs to its residents.

Carl Gensel, a Local 420 steamfitter said he has been inside data centers, describing an AI data center in Philadelphia, “20-cylinder quad turbo” engines using 120 gallons of diesel per minute.

“It is a train engine inside of a building,” he said. He also beseeched Council to focus regulations on defining the difference between conventional data centers and AI-scale facilities.

Carl Gensel, a Local 420 steamfitter urged council to focus regulations on defining the difference between conventional data centers and AI-scale facilities.

Falls Township residents at the meeting shared their experiences with township officials on the Amazon/NorthPoint project where the project has grown from a warehousing facility into a 2 million square foot AI campus. And that’s due in large part to how the zoning ordinances are structured, which allows for project flexibility.

Falls Supervisors in March 2025 – following various other public meetings, including the zoning hearing board, and planning commission – approved North Point Development’s modified land development plans, which permitted warehouses at the KTC to accommodate a data center.

The township, Pizzo said, reviewed white papers, model ordinances, and other information from planning commissions in Allegany County (Pittsburg), Chester and Montgomery Counties, all of whom have either issued recommendations to local municipalities or have put together model ordinances for the regulation of data centers.

We also looked to see if any municipalities  have adopted any regulations/ordinances and at this moment as you might expect there are few who have, Pizzo said.

West Rockhill Township has, Pizzo said.

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West Rockhill officials recently passed a Data Center ordinance, according to a Bucks County Herald report. There were 11 sections either amended, added or deleted based on community feedback.

Studies focusing on sound; water and water water; power and electricity; facility height are among ordinance sections updated and or revised.

Bensalem, Pizzo explained, can’t say we don’t want data centers anywhere in the township, and we’re going to ban them. Pennsylvania zoning laws require us to provide for every conceivable use of land somewhere in the municipality.

Without an ordinance in place, a developer could file what’s called a developer curative amendment, seeking to exploit a loophole in Bensalem’s zoning ordinances, and potentially force approval of a data center on land of their choosing, he explained.

Bensalem, by now putting into play its own curative amendment, puts a pause on any AI data center development that has yet to come before the township seeking project and land development approval (s).

Bensalem Twp Solicitor Joe Pizzo at last weeks Council Meeting explaining the nuanced challenges of AI Data Center zoning

There are no such applications currently, officials said, however, Pizzo noted a Trevose-based business has inquired whether or not, under its current zoning, a data center would be a permitted use.

“Once we undertake this municipal curative amendment, we are prohibited from doing it again for a period of 36 months,” Pizzo explained. “So once we come up with a set of regulations, those are the regulations that are in place.”

Council approved the measure unanimously.