Valley View SD v. Archbald / Project Gravity data center suit (2026)
Archbald, PA — Valley View School District Sues Archbald Borough and Project Gravity Developers to Subject Seven-Building Data Center Campus to Borough Data Center Zoning (September 2026)
Archbald, PA · Valley View School District v. Archbald Borough et al. (Lackawanna County court, filed Sept. 2026)
- Status
- Blocked / in litigation
- Applies to
- Project Gravity developers (Archbald 25 Developer LLC; US Gravity Purchaser LLC); Archbald Borough
- Enforced by
- Lackawanna County court
The Valley View School District sued Archbald Borough and the developers of Project Gravity, a proposed seven-building data center campus on a 186-acre site near the district's intermediate, middle and high school campus. Because the project applied before Archbald adopted data center zoning rules, it has been treated as grandfathered under older zoning. The district asks the court to rule that the developers have no vested right to use the old rules, so the borough's data center regulations — which limit data centers to overlay districts that do not include this site — would apply. About 2,000 students and staff attend school daily on the nearby campus.
Who is protected: Valley View School District students and staff (about 2,000 daily on the Columbus Drive campus) and Archbald residents
Legal detail
Filed in county court (Lackawanna County) on the Friday before the Times-Tribune's 2026-09-22 report (i.e., 2026-09-18). Defendants: Archbald Borough and borough council; Archbald 25 Developer LLC (formerly Western Hospitality Partners – Jermyn LLC); US Gravity Purchaser LLC. Three counts: (1) Project Gravity not entitled to Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code protections against Archbald's data center zoning ordinance; (2) neither Archbald 25 nor US Gravity has vested rights under the March 2023 zoning; (3) Archbald's data center standards apply to US Gravity Purchaser and to any substantively modified plans. The district also challenges the Planning Commission's 2025-09-03 conditional preliminary-plan approval (no written decision, no written acceptance within 30 days) and cites tree clearing without permits and removal from the PA Permit Fast Track Program on April 27. Audacy (WILK) reports the borough's data center zoning amendment was passed in November 2025 and restricts data centers to four overlay districts. Archbald solicitor declined comment. NOT ESTABLISHED: docket number; any hearing date.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Archbald, PA |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Citation | Valley View School District v. Archbald Borough et al. (Lackawanna County court, filed Sept. 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Declaratory relief sought; no penalties |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · children's online safety · education AI |
| News report | Valley View School District lawsuit could halt Project Gravity data centers — Scranton Times-Tribune |
More AI rules in Archbald, PA
- Archbald PA stricter data center ordinance draft (2026) · Proposed / pending
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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