Chadds Ford first in Delco to draft data center ordinance
Energy is the hot topic du jour, so how about we dabble in electrons through the lens of life in Chadds Ford. Enjoy this pop-up series, Energy in Chadds Ford, exploring conversations about energy in our neck of the woods.
In the now-infamous data center power debacle, many state and federal elected officials seem smitten by data centers, while a growing contingent of local leaders is pushing back against these behemoths being built in their backyards. In Chadds Ford, our Supervisors have drafted a data center ordinance to offer potential leverage if a hyperscaler hopes to make our home their home.
State and federal politicians on data centers in PA
Many state and national politicians (especially in PA) seem to see data centers as fancy and cutting-edge… when they don’t endure the direct consequences. 🙄 Moreover, an unhappy contingent of hyperlocal constituents with nearby data center neighbors isn’t a large enough group to swing a particular state or national candidate’s broader electoral prospects.
💰 I have a funny feeling that data centers are particularly appealing when they come with healthy campaign contributions from Big Tech’s very deep pockets. But what do I know? They’re maybe even more appealing when your wife needs them to grow profits for insatiably hungry shareholders (more on that in a minute).
Local politicians on data centers in PA
Many local leaders, however, seem to be taking a different view. When a data center shows up in their backyard, they have to live directly with the environmental and lifestyle consequences of its presence. They also have a significant portion of their constituents increasingly angry about the outcome.
Chadds Ford is at this crossroads. We have state and national leaders dying to stand up data centers in our state. But the Chadds Ford Board of Supervisors isn’t interested in a 24/7 neighbor that hums all day and night, dries up our water wells, and eats up all the electrons (even if it’s really good at writing college essays for our competitive students or planning our international travel).
Recently, Chadds Ford Supervisor Timotha Trigg led the effort to draft a data center ordinance for Chadds Ford. The 46-pager was a heavy lift and the first in Delaware County. If passed, it would create strict guidelines for data center development in our town. She’s working to ensure that if a data center comes to Chadds Ford, it doesn’t disrupt the quality of life in our town.
Let’s do a deeper analysis of the data center discussion around town.
Meet the McCormicks: Data Center Dave and Big Data Dina.
Data Center Dave is one of Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators. He loves data centers and wants to bring lots of them to Pennsylvania, so they can be powered by our large reserves of natural gas buried deep underground and (maybe) by a host of new nuclear plants.
Big Data Dina is the President of Meta, one of the largest technology companies in the world, that specializes in mining and exploiting our personal data and human imperfections for profit, no matter the cost to society. Fun! 🎰
Remember how they exploit young girls’ vulnerabilities because it’s good for the bottom line? Or sell lots of personal data in silly mixups like the Cambridge Analytica situation? Don’t hate the playa, hate the game, friends.
Big Data Dina’s company (and all the other hyperscalers, the fancy word for entities wanting ungodly amounts of energy as soon as… yesterday) need data centers and all the energy required to run them to meet their quarterly forecasts. After all, their largest owners and investors have lavish compounds surrounded by security fortresses1 stashed away in remote corners of the earth, and PJs to puddle-jump between them. Those baddies have serious operating budgets to fund. 💸
tl;dr — Data Center Dave wants to build data centers. Big Data Dina needs data centers for her company. It’s a match made in AI heaven. 💘 So romantic.
Why am I introducing you to DC Dave and BD Dina?
There’s just one small hiccup in their conscious coupling. Data Center Dave is supposed to represent the good people of Pennsylvania, but many of us don’t want his beloved data centers in our backyards. Constituents across the Commonwealth, in cities and towns big and small, are working feverishly to enact municipal data center ordinances to protect them from being bullied by the big bad lawyers of companies like Big Data Dina’s and others like it.
Pesky conflict of interests
Ah shucks. This sounds like a bit of a conundrum for Data Center Dave. Sounds like he has some conflicts of interest to sort out (and we know how most politicians love pretending those don’t exist, right?)
Will he have to choose between his wife and his constituents? Between Big Campaign Money from Big Data and Big Energy, or Big Props from his constituents who prefer not to be run out of town by robots?
💭 Do you think anyone thinks that’s even a real question?
Does anyone think Data Center Dave is looking out for the little PA residents who don’t care for data centers, rather than his wife, Big Data Dina, who wants all the data centers in all the places?
Sidenote: I know Governor Shapiro is in the same boat, believing that data centers are key to prosperity in the Keystone State. Similar incentives to Data Center Dave, I imagine (without the spouse thing).
New data center ordinance in Chadds Ford
One of those itty-bitty towns scrambling to pass an ordinance before a data center installs its power-hungry, thirsty, constantly humming, behemoth self is… you guessed it... quaint Chadds Ford.
At the February 4, 2026, Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Timotha Trigg introduced a new data center ordinance for consideration in Chadds Ford. The 46-page draft ordinance considers environmental impacts, water and energy supply, preservation of the township’s historical character, and more.
Notably, the ordinance limits data centers to the LI-1 (light industrial) zoning district and requires a minimum of 25 acres. There is currently only one LI-1 zoning district in the township, along the south side of Route 1 and across Creek Rd from the post office. The current LI-1 zone is about 46 acres. Thus, the ordinance limits data centers in most of the township… for now.
Property owners can pursue rezoning, so it’s not impossible that a data center could pop up elsewhere in the township. But for those who hope we aren’t home to a humming data center, this ordinance severely limits where they can be located.
I asked Supervisor Trigg more about the due diligence process to draft the new ordinance, and she said:
“The ordinance was developed following review of model ordinances as well as existing data center regulations in Pennsylvania and other jurisdictions. Drawing on this research, the draft was tailored to address the specific infrastructure, land use, and environmental considerations of the Township.
It was prepared in consultation with Township professionals and discussed at publicly advertised meetings of the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission. The standards focus on objective, performance-based considerations, including infrastructure capacity, water and power usage, noise, buffering, and site design.”
What’s next for the ordinance?
After the introduction and high-level review of the draft data center ordinance at the meeting, township leadership passed the draft along to the county for advisory review, pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. Eventually, the township will hold a public hearing before voting on whether to approve it.
If you have strong feelings about Big Data Dina or one of her hyperscaler competitors building a data center right along the Walkable Chadds Ford path, be on the lookout for the public hearing to voice your opinion. I’ll be sure to remind you when it’s up for discussion.
Also, let Trigg know you appreciate her efforts. It was a hefty task to bring together an array of resources and perspectives to draft an ordinance that has a chance of standing up to the billions of big bucks if a data center wants to dig its heels into the long grass along Harvey Run Trail.
Why getting our data center ducks in a row now matters
Entities with big, bad lawyers come in and try to boss around the little township leaders and bully them with their deep pockets to get their way. We’re seeing this on a microscale (relative to a hyperscaler hoping to build a data center).
Calvary Chapel is pushing Chadds Ford to allow construction of a fancy outdoor concert venue that doesn’t benefit its nearest Chadds Ford neighbors. Few in the township really want these developments, but there may be limited legal levers to prevent them from building as they wish. The Zoning Board rejected Calvary’s appeal, but the chapel has already filed litigation against the township to get its way.
The Shoppes at Concord offers a similar example, but a few relevant zoning ordinances are already in place, giving Concord Township some potential leverage over construction design. It remains to be seen how zoning and legal battles on Ridge Road over gas stations, building joints, traffic patterns, and other matters ultimately determine whether the development can move forward as planned.
These are mini test runs for our local elected officials to get them ready for the potential arrival of the big guns, like Big Data Dina. It’s almost like the municipal government gods are giving Chadds Ford a chance to stretch 🧎🏼♀️ and warm up 🏃🏽♂️ before the big game. Lucky us. 🫶🏼
I’m glad to see our Chadds Ford supervisors working to get ahead of this match made in McCormick heaven, which is almost guaranteed to become hell for so many Pennsylvania constituents.
What about the AI future?
I’m no data center or AI hype girl, nor am I a Luddite. Humans must learn to coexist with agentic beings while also ruthlessly protecting our humanity. I expect AI to be a fixture of our future. We need to plan accordingly to make the most of it as a tool and prepare for the burdens it will place on society.
I hope Data Center Dave and Big Data Dina have a plan for Universal Basic Income (or something similar) in their long-range plan. Because once their power hungry, thirsty, constantly humming, sparkly data centers fueling artificial intelligence drive up GDP for the state (yeah 🥳) by eliminating all the jobs for humans (oh wait.. not yeah 🥴) and consolidating much of the wealth creation among the few AI owners (oh sh*t, this got dark fast 😨), we’re gonna need that UBI badly. 🫶🏼
Disclaimer: I do not own a crystal ball 🔮 nor can I read Tarot cards. I do not predict the future.
P.S. I wish I could tell you where Senator Fetterman stands on data centers in PA; that man’s mind is all over the map. Hindsight is 20/20, but Conor Lamb (who lost to Fetterman in the Democratic primary in 2022) is looking pretty good these days. 🤦🏻♀️
- Ya know… for when humanity collapses from all the things companies like Big Data Dana’s are doing to the world. ↩︎
