It’s been a little while since our last update, so thanks for your patience! We hope everyone made it out today to vote in your local elections earlier today.

Before we get into updates, take a minute to mark your calendar: The Young Stewards of Cumberland County are hosting an informational event about data centers and their impact on communities on Tuesday, November 18 from 6:00 – 8:30 PM at Middlesex United Methodist Church. They aim to support residents and local leaders alike in making informed, protective decisions for the community’s future.

There’s a lot to catch up on across Middlesex, Southampton, and North Middleton Townships, so let’s get into it!

Middlesex Township – Project Bolt starts water allocation conversations; extends review period for preliminary plans

Project Bolt developers informally requested an allocation of 400,000 gallons per day of water from the Middlesex Township Municipal Authority (MTMA) at their meeting on October 16. The MTMA stated they currently have roughly 900,000 gallons per day of excess capacity.

  • Previously, we were told that the developers planned to design the data center’s specifications based on whatever capacity MTMA could provide.
  • The MTMA has been working to bring an additional well online (a project unrelated to Project Bolt), and developers may seek additional capacity once that happens.
  • Next steps: No official action was taken at the October meeting, but a decision is expected at the November 20 MTMA meeting. Watch for the agenda here.
  • Read PennLive’s in-depth coverage of the MTMA meeting here.

Community member Dave K. obtained a correspondence between MTMA and Carlisle Development Partners via a Right-to-Know request and kindly shared it via Facebook. Click the link to download and read.

At the October 31 Board of Supervisors Workshop Meeting, the BOS voted to extend the review period for both the Preliminary Subdivision Plan and Preliminary Land Development Plan for Project Bolt until February 4, 2026.

The Middlesex Township Planning Commission meeting scheduled for October 27 was canceled; the next meeting is scheduled for November 10.

Southampton Township – Zoning hearing halted

At the October 28 Southampton Township Board of Supervisors meeting, advocates and residents successfully stopped a hearing on a proposed data center-related zoning map amendment due to procedural and legal violations. The proposal originated from a resident who sought to rezone both his own property and several neighboring parcels.

Because not all affected property owners signed on, as well as various procedural issues on the part of the property owner and the township (see below), the application cannot proceed in its current form. If the applicant wishes to continue, they must submit a new application, restarting the full township review process.

Ginny Marcille-Kerslake of Food & Water Watch (who also spoke at the first Middlesex Township meeting on data centers earlier this year) raised multiple issues related to compliance with the Sunshine Act and Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code (MPC), which she kindly posted on Facebook afterward, for clarity and reference.

Expand for specific violations and administrative issues
  • Sunshine Act: The hearing agenda was not posted on the township website or on the building at least 24 hours in advance.
  • Zoning Ordinance & MPC Section 609: The application was sent to the County Planning Commission on October 6, less than 30 days before the public hearing.
  • MPC Section 610:
    • Only one small sign was posted—at 54 Airport Road, the applicant’s property—and it faced the road rather than being easily visible to surrounding areas.
    • Public notices and letters to neighboring property owners did not specify where to obtain a copy of the proposed map amendment.
  • Public notices referred only to the Collingworth property at 54 Airport Road (65 acres) rather than the full 129 acres proposed.
  • Letters dated September 29, 2025 sent to adjacent property owners, including those whose land would also be rezoned, only mentioned 54 Airport Road.
  • The application submitted to the County was missing signatures from three property owners—a total of roughly 28 acres.

North Middleton Township – Ordinance adopted

Township supervisors voted to adopt an ordinance amending the township zoning code to include provisions for Data Centers at the October 16 meeting.

Ordinance details:

  • Data centers are allowed as a conditional use in the Industrial (IND) and Commercial/Light Industrial (CL/I) zones. This means that any future proposal for a data center will require a public hearing and township approval under the conditional-use process. Rural and Agricultural Zones remain protected from data center development.
  • The ordinance specifies a 100 ft setback from residential zones; many residents have expressed interest in seeing this requirement strengthened.
  • Notable Locations: The CL/I zone includes the Cumberland County Fairgrounds property. There is no current application for a data center there, but the ordinance technically permits it if an appropriate proposal were made.

Supervisor and Planning Commission Member Bradley Mitchell shared clarifying comments on Facebook regarding the intent and implications of the ordinance. The board’s goal, he said, was to proactively protect Rural Resource and Agricultural zones by limiting data centers to Industrial and Commercial/Light Industrial areas. He also pointed out that the ordinance can be amended at any time.

Full text of North Middleton’s Data Center Ordinance (PDF)
We do not see the ordinance updated on North Middleton’s eCode library yet.