O'Neill v. Upper Merion Township (Pa. 2026)
O'Neill v. Upper Merion Township (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl., Montgomery County 2026) — Developer Sues Over the Township's Unanimous August 13, 2026 Rejection of a 4.6-Million-Square-Foot King of Prussia Data Center Campus, Arguing Township Officials Had Long Treated Data Centers as WAREHOUSES and Therefore Permitted Under the Zoning Code
Upper Merion Township, PA · O'Neill v. Upper Merion Township (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl., Montgomery Cty. 2026)
- Status
- Blocked / in litigation
- Applies to
- Upper Merion Township, its Planning Commission and its Board of Supervisors, which must defend the denial.
- Enforced by
- Montgomery County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas
Upper Merion Township, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, unanimously rejected a proposed data center campus near King of Prussia on August 13, 2026 — reported at between 4.6 and 5 million square feet, one of the largest such proposals in the region. Developer Brian O'Neill has now sued the township, its planning commission and its board of supervisors in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. His central argument is that township officials themselves have said in recent years that data centers qualify as WAREHOUSES, and warehouses are permitted under the township's zoning code — so the use was already allowed and the denial was unlawful. There was an earlier round: the day before the August vote, O'Neill sued over the township's refusal to grant him an extension to September 30, and Judge Garrett D. Page ordered township proceedings on the data center applications paused. That order was vacated the following day, hours before the supervisors voted. O'Neill has said he will keep pushing, on the basis that his plan is filed and was approved by the township's zoning officer. WHY THIS MATTERS BEYOND ONE TOWNSHIP: the 'a data center is just a warehouse' classification argument is the single most portable theory available to developers facing a municipality that never wrote data-center-specific zoning, and this is a well-resourced test of it.
Who is protected: No one, on the protective side — this is a challenge to a municipality's denial of a data center. It is carried because the classification theory it pleads ('data center = warehouse = permitted use') is the primary legal exposure for every municipality whose zoning code predates data centers, which is most of them.
Legal detail
Brian O'Neill v. Upper Merion Township, its Planning Commission and its Board of Supervisors, Montgomery County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas. Underlying action: the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on August 13, 2026 to deny the proposed data center campus near King of Prussia, reported at 4.6 million square feet (some coverage reports approximately 5 million). Principal theory pleaded: that township officials have stated in recent years that data centers qualify as warehouses and are therefore a permitted use under the township zoning code. Procedural history: on August 12, 2026 the developer sued the township, planning commission and board of supervisors alleging violation of a legal right to an extension after officials denied a requested extension to September 30; Judge Garrett D. Page ordered a pause on township proceedings and decisions related to the data center applications; the order was vacated the following day, hours before the August 13 vote. Further suits were filed Wednesday, September 16, 2026 challenging the denial. The developer has stated an intention to appeal to obtain approval of the filed plan, which he asserts was approved by the township's zoning officer.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Upper Merion Township, PA |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Citation | O'Neill v. Upper Merion Township (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl., Montgomery Cty. 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Not stated; the relief sought is review and reversal of the land-use denial. |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy |
| News report | Developer sues Upper Merion Township over rejected King of Prussia data center proposals — The Philadelphia Inquirer |
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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