Ligonier Township PA data center zoning regulations (2026)
Ligonier Township, Pennsylvania — Supervisors Unanimously Add a New Zoning Code Section Dictating Where Data Centers May Be Built and What Conditions Developers Must Meet, With Residents Warning About Community Benefits Agreements (August 2026)
Ligonier Township, PA · Ligonier Township, Pa. — zoning code amendment adding data center regulations (adopted August 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- August 25, 2026
- Applies to
- Developers proposing data centers in Ligonier Township, subject to the new zoning section's siting restrictions and pre-construction conditions
- Enforced by
- Ligonier Township Zoning and Code Enforcement / Board of Supervisors
Ligonier Township now has regulations dictating WHERE data centers can be built and WHAT CONDITIONS developers must meet before breaking ground. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a number of changes to the zoning code at its Tuesday meeting in August 2026, including a brand-new section outlining regulations for data centers, following a public hearing. This is a permanent standards ordinance rather than a pause — the township chose to define the terms of entry instead of buying time. Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer Rick Krouse and Solicitor Dan Hudock attended alongside the full board. One resident's comment is worth preserving because it names a risk that recurs across this dataset without usually being articulated. Chloe West told the supervisors that IF COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENTS between the township and data center developers FALL SHORT, TAXPAYERS MAY HAVE TO ABSORB COSTS from the centers overburdening utilities. Community benefits agreements are the mechanism New Jersey built into its statewide framework and that Pennsylvania's own executive order addresses from a different direction by banning data center non-disclosure agreements outright. West's point is that a CBA is only as good as its terms, and a township negotiating alone against a hyperscale developer may not get terms that cover what the facility actually costs the community. Ligonier Township is in Westmoreland County, east of Pittsburgh.
Who is protected: Ligonier Township residents in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania; township utility ratepayers
Legal detail
Ligonier Township, Pa. (Westmoreland County) — ZONING CODE AMENDMENT adding a NEW SECTION regulating data centers, approved UNANIMOUSLY by the Board of Supervisors at its Tuesday meeting in August 2026 following a public hearing. OPERATIVE EFFECT: the township now has regulations dictating WHERE data centers can be built AND WHAT CONDITIONS developers must meet before breaking ground. INSTRUMENT CLASS: a permanent standards ordinance, not a moratorium \u2014 the township defined terms of entry rather than buying drafting time, the same choice recorded on Corunna MI data center zoning ordinance (2026), Portage IN Technology Campus district data center rules (2026) and Joplin MO data center regulations (2026). OFFICIALS PRESENT: Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer Rick Krouse, Solicitor Dan Hudock, and the full board \u2014 Chair John Beaufort, Vice Chair Paul Knupp, Supervisors Dan Resenic, Stephanie Verna and Wade Stoner. THE RESIDENT COMMENT IS RECORDED BECAUSE IT NAMES A STRUCTURAL RISK THIS DATASET OTHERWISE ONLY IMPLIES: Chloe West warned that IF COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENTS between the township and data center developers FALL SHORT, TAXPAYERS MAY HAVE TO ABSORB COSTS from the centers OVERBURDENING UTILITIES. CBAs are a central mechanism in New Jersey S3379/A4096 data center transparency (2026), whose fourth pillar equips municipalities with state guidance and EDA/DEP/BPU technical assistance for CBA negotiation \u2014 an acknowledgement that a municipality bargaining alone is outmatched. Pennsylvania approached the same asymmetry from the opposite direction: Pennsylvania EO 2026-05 data center restrictions (2026) PROHIBITS data center non-disclosure agreements outright, so a township at least negotiates in public. West's objection is that transparency and assistance still do not guarantee terms that cover the facility's true municipal cost, and that the residual falls on ratepayers and taxpayers. NO SPECIFIC STANDARDS \u2014 setbacks, height, noise limits, load thresholds \u2014 are stated in the located source, which is the material gap on this entry.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Ligonier Township, PA |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | August 25, 2026 |
| Citation | Ligonier Township, Pa. — zoning code amendment adding data center regulations (adopted August 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Data centers may be built only where the new zoning section permits and only on meeting its conditions |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| News report | Ligonier Township supervisors pass ordinance regulating data centers — The Latrobe Bulletin |
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
See something wrong or out of date? Submit a correction. Every entry must carry a verifiable source.