G-17 Data Center Ordinance vs PennFuture Model

Here is a comparison of two data center ordinances: a local draft ordinance and a model ordinance prepared by PennFuture, a non-profit environmental advocacy and watchdog organization. While both aim to regulate large-scale data storage and processing facilities, they approach the task differently: the local "G-17 Ordinance" is a specific draft for a multi-municipality jointure in Pennsylvania (Newtown, Wrightstown, and Upper Makefield Townships), whereas the "PennFuture" document is a customizable model ordinance intended for general municipal use.

UPDATE (6/16/26): The Newtown Planning Commission unanimously approved that the Board of Supervisors adopt the G-17 Ordinance as written with the hope that it can be amended in the future. A Newtown resident made this comment:

“I appreciate the speed and wanting to get ahead, and I absolutely think that site that you referred to out on the bypass absolutely could not now, maybe not in five years, but in ten years, a knock will come at the door. And I just think Newtown Township and the Jointure should all be prepared.

“[the PennFuture model] is a great model that I've I've identified for you. It really covers everything.

“If not today, maybe then that's something for future conversations because you seem to think you'll be able to get in there and change it later. I just get anxious about the we're gonna be able to do it later. Because later the bulldozers could be out there, and it's very hard to stop something once the shovel hits the ground.”

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Definitions and Scope

• G-17 Ordinance: Characterizes data centers using specific operational thresholds, such as having dedicated data halls exceeding 10,000 square feet, electrical demand over 30 kilowatt-hours per square foot, redundant power systems, mechanical cooling, and 24-hour operations.
• PennFuture Model: Focuses on the primary use of the building for computer/telecommunications processing and storage, explicitly bringing cryptocurrency mining, blockchain transaction processing, and server farms under its definition. It also deliberately excludes energy generation systems intended to supply power to the data center, noting that power plants or solar arrays should be regulated as separate, independent uses.

Dimensional Standards

• Height: Both set a base maximum height of 45 feet. However, the PennFuture model allows an additional 15 feet specifically for roof-mounted equipment, like cooling towers, whereas the G-17 draft requires all rooftop equipment and elevator towers to be counted within the 45-foot limit.
• Lot Size & Setbacks: G-17 establishes a strict 25-acre minimum lot size. It dictates robust setbacks of 1,000 feet from residential zones and 300 feet from non-residential properties. As a customizable model, PennFuture leaves lot size and setbacks as placeholders for the adopting municipality to determine.

Noise and Vibration Standards

• G-17 Ordinance: Implements straightforward sound limits measured at the parcel line: maximum 50 dB(A) adjacent to residential uses and 62 dB(A) adjacent to non-residential uses. It requires a pre-construction noise study and allows the municipality to demand a post-construction study.
• PennFuture Model: Features a highly complex, multi-metric acoustical framework. It establishes time-of-day limits — Daytime, Evening, Nighttime — and differentiates between Equivalent Continuous Sound Level (LEQ), maximum sound pressure (LMAX), and Peak Sound Pressure Level (LPK). It also features strict, mathematically detailed penalties for "pure tones," distinct humming or whining frequencies common to cooling equipment. Furthermore, PennFuture mandates that ground-borne vibration cannot exceed ISO 2631-2 Residential Day criteria.

Water, Utilities, and Groundwater Protection

• G-17 Ordinance: Requires applicants to demonstrate "exhaustive efforts" to utilize on-lot renewable electricity and public water/sewer connections before resorting to public electric grids or on-site wells. If a facility uses on-site water, a Water Resources Impact Study is required. It also mandates Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) approval for water withdrawals or imports/exports of 10,000 gallons per day or more.
• PennFuture Model: Contains extremely rigorous protections for local groundwater. A highly detailed Water Feasibility Study and hydrogeologic report are required for withdrawals of 50,000 gallons per day or more. It requires applicants to offer free baseline well testing to neighbors within 3,000 feet of the site or within the well's cone of depression. Data center operators must post a financial security bond — $5,000 per neighboring well — to cover potential water supply damages and are presumed responsible for any adverse impacts to neighboring wells within 60 months of operation. The DRBC/Susquehanna River Basin Commission approval threshold is set higher, at 100,000 gallons per day.

Landscaping, Buffering, and Aesthetics

• G-17 Ordinance: Requires buffer yards incorporating six-foot landscaped earthen berms. It also strictly regulates outdoor lighting, requiring zero up-light fixtures no taller than 15 feet, which must be dimmed to 50% one hour after business closes, if not a 24-hour facility.
• PennFuture Model: Does not explicitly mandate earthen berms but requires a 25-foot landscape buffer filled with a dense, specified mix of native evergreens, shade trees, and shrubs to create an opaque, four-season screen. It also includes aesthetic mandates, requiring long building facades facing roads or homes to feature architectural changes, like varied materials or step-backs, every 150 horizontal feet.

Parking

• G-17 Ordinance: Requires one space per 10,000 square feet of gross floor area, plus additional parking for administrative offices. It includes a unique "Reserve Parking" provision, allowing developers to build only 60% of the required spaces initially, preserving the rest as seeded open space unless the township determines the spaces are actually needed.
• PennFuture Model: Requires one space per 8,000 square feet, or one space per employee on the largest shift, whichever is lesser.

Decommissioning

• G-17 Ordinance: Contains a robust decommissioning process. If a data center ceases operations or its electrical demand drops below 25% of its load for 12 months, it is presumed abandoned. The owner must post financial security prior to construction and, upon abandonment, completely remove all computing equipment, hazardous materials, generators, and specialized structural elements, like reinforced pads and raised floors.
• PennFuture Model: The provided excerpts do not include general decommissioning requirements for the facility or its computing infrastructure, limiting its financial security release solely to the expiration of the 60-month groundwater protection window.