[15-8508 Bill 52 Amending Part II General Legislation, Chapter 660 Zoning, Article 5 Uses, Table 660-4 Use Table and Section 660-38 Manufacturing & Industry Group, adding public notice requirements and amending the use category Data Center Use. ]
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GOING TO GET STARTED. WE HAVE OUR FIRST MEETING HERE, OUR SECOND MEETING, WHICH IS OUR PUBLIC HEARING. AND WE'LL START WITH A ROLL CALL. MISS ORTEGA, MISS GERLACH HERE. MR. BENDER, PRESENT MISS MODA HERE, MR. NAPOLI HERE, MR. PONGO HERE. MISS SAFIR HERE. AND MISS SANTOS IS ABSENT. MR. PRESIDENT. THANK YOU. SO TONIGHT'S HEARING IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO PROVIDE TESTIMONY TO SPECIFICALLY ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS CONTAINED IN BILL 52. BILL 52 PROPOSES AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY'S RECENTLY ADOPTED DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS, STRENGTHENING KEY PROVISIONS BASED ON COUNCIL'S REVIEW OF THIS EMERGING LAND USE AND REINFORCED BY PUBLIC FEEDBACK, WE RECOGNIZE THAT DATA CENTERS ARE AN EMERGING AND EVOLVING LAND USE. BILL 52 REPRESENTS ANOTHER STEP IN REFINING THE CITY'S REGULATIONS, AND COUNCIL EXPECTS TO CONTINUE EVALUATING THESE STANDARDS AS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND EXPERIENCE BECOME AVAILABLE. BILL 52 PROPOSES SEVERAL ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS, INCLUDING ONE REMOVING DATA CENTERS AS A PERMITTED USE IN THE INDUSTRIAL GENERAL IG DISTRICT, LIMITING LIMITING THEM TO THE INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING, WHICH IS THE I'M DISTRICT. IT ALSO. NUMBER TWO, INCREASES SETBACK REQUIREMENTS FROM RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS AND OTHER SENSITIVE RECEPTOR. AND LAND USES THREE. ESTABLISHING DECOMMISSIONING REQUIREMENTS TO ENSURE SITES ARE PROPERLY RESTORED IF OPERATIONS CEASE. FOUR STRENGTHENING NOISE AND VIBRATION STANDARDS, AND LASTLY, REQUIRING REQUIRING ADDITIONAL PUBLIC NOTICE FOR FUTURE DATA CENTER APPLICATIONS. LIKE ALL ZONING AMENDMENTS, BILL 52 HAS GONE THROUGH THE REQUIRED REVIEW PROCESS, INCLUDING REFERRALS TO THE ALLENTOWN CITY PLANNING COMMISSION, THE LEHIGH VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION, AND CHAIR GERLACH'S COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE. AND TONIGHT, IT'S BEFORE US FOR PUBLIC HEARING AND POSSIBLE ADOPTION AT THE MEETING THAT FOLLOWS THIS ONE, COPIES OF THE FULL TEXT OF THIS ORDINANCE AND REPORTS ON THIS LEGISLATION ARE AVAILABLE ON THE CITY WEBSITE. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE PUBLIC HEARING. CITY COUNCIL MAY ADOPT THIS AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE AT OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED COUNCIL MEETING IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE PUBLIC HEARING. IN ADDITION TO BILL 52, CITY COUNCIL WILL ALSO CONSIDER A SEPARATE ORDINANCE DURING ITS REGULAR MEETING THIS EVENING THAT PROPOSES AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY NOISE ORDINANCE. THAT LEGISLATION IS DISTINCT FROM THE ZONING AMENDMENT BEFORE US TONIGHT. THE PROPOSED CHANGES WOULD APPLY TO ALL CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING USES, NOT JUST DATA CENTERS, AND WOULD ESTABLISH UPDATED SOUND MEASUREMENT STANDARDS, PROHIBIT INCREASES TO BASELINE AMBIENT NOISE AND PERSISTENT LOW FREQUENCY SOUNDS, AND CREATE THIRD PARTY VERIFICATION AND ENFORCEMENT TOOLS. THAT ORDINANCE IS NOT SUBJECT TO THIS PUBLIC HEARING, BUT WILL BE CONSIDERED AS PART OF THE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA, AND THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON THE NOISE ORDINANCE AT THE NEXT MEETING. ON THAT NOTE, I'D LIKE TO MENTION THAT PUBLIC TESTIMONY TONIGHT MUST BE FOCUSED ON BILL 52 AND BILL 52. ONLY THE PROPOSED DATA CENTER PROJECT AT 2401 EMMAUS AVENUE IS BEING CONSIDERED THROUGH A SEPARATE PROCESS BY THE ALLENTOWN PLANNING COMMISSION, WHICH IS INDEPENDENT OF ALLENTOWN CITY COUNCIL. THAT PROJECT IS NOT BEFORE CITY COUNCIL. TONIGHT, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO ADDRESS OTHER MATTERS MAY DO SO DURING. COURTESY OF THE FLOOR. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THIS HEARING. SO NEXT UP ARE SOLICITOR. MISS MONTEIRO. CAN YOU PLEASE STATE THE PURPOSE? SURE. BILL 52 WAS INTRODUCED ON JUNE 24TH OF 2026 DURING A SPECIAL MEETING. THAT MEANS THAT THE PENDING ORDINANCE HAS BEEN IN EFFECT FOR ANY RELEVANT NEW APPLICATIONS SINCE THAT DATE. NOW, THIS EVENING AND IN THIS PUBLIC HEARING, WHAT WE'RE ACCEPTING IS ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS REGARDING BILL 52, WHICH IS AMENDING CHAPTER 660 OF ALLENTOWN ZONING CODE. THANK YOU. OKAY. I'M NOT HERE FOR THE DATA CENTER. I'M HERE TO GIVE YOU MY STATEMENT. OKAY. WE HAVE COURTESY OF THE FLOOR IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS MEETING. I'M NOT HERE FOR THIS HEARING.
OKAY. SO CAN YOU PLEASE WAIT? WAIT HOW LONG? 15. TEN MINUTES. 15 MINUTES? YEAH, YEAH, WE GOT YOU. AS SOON AS THE NEXT MEETING STARTS. WE'RE GOOD. SO, MISS ORTEGA, CAN YOU READ THE BILL, PLEASE? BILL 52 IS AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PART TWO, GENERAL LEGISLATION, CHAPTER 660 ZONING. ARTICLE FIVE USES. TABLE 664 USE TABLE AND SECTION 660-38. MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRY GROUP. ADDING PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS AND AMENDING THE USE CATEGORY. DATA
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CENTER USE IN ORDER TO INCREASE SETBACK REQUIREMENTS. REMOVE THE DATA CENTER USE FROM THE ECG ZONE, REVISE NOISE AND VIBRATION STANDARDS, AND CREATE NEW STANDARDS FOR DECOMMISSIONING. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY COMMENTS FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, MISS GOMEZ? GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. JENNIFER IT ACTUALLY SUMMARIZES IT QUITE WELL. I APPRECIATE SEEING ALL THE FACES OUT IN THE AUDIENCE TODAY. I CAN SAY THAT THIS HAS NOW BEEN MULTIPLE MEETINGS, BOTH FOR THIS AND SOME OF THE PROJECTS. SO WE'VE SEEN SOME OF THE SAME FACES EVERY SINGLE MEETING. SO I THINK THAT SHOWS A SINCERE CONCERN AND COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY AND SHOWING UP FOR THE CAUSES THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT. SO SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT ARE WE HEAR AND INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO POTENTIAL IMPACTS SUCH AS HIGH ENERGY AND WATER DEMAND, NOISE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, VISUAL AND DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS, EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RESILIENCY, COMMUNITY COMPATIBILITY AND LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY. AND ALL OF THOSE CONCEPTS WERE WRAPPED IT UP AND WRAPPED UP IN A DRESS THROUGH BILL 20, WHICH WAS WHAT ADOPTED AND IS IN PLACE TODAY. SO THE REGULATIONS THAT WE HAVE, AS OF JUNE ARE THE FOUNDATION FOR, FOR THE REGULATIONS THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO PUT FORWARD. WE HEARD A LOT OF FEEDBACK AT THAT TIME THAT THERE'S FURTHER ACTIONS THAT ARE DESIRED TO STRENGTHEN THE ORDINANCE FURTHER AND URGING TO, TO GO FURTHER IN OUR REGULATIONS. SO, AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, COUNCIL IMMEDIATELY INTRODUCED BILL 52 TO ADDRESS THEIR HIGHEST PRIORITY REVISIONS, WHICH WERE SUMMARIZED PREVIOUSLY. IF WE CAN, THIS LIMITS IT TO THE IM DISTRICT ONLY. SO ONLY ONE ZONING DISTRICT WHERE THIS IS PERMITTED. AND THAT'S SIGNIFICANT, MORE SIGNIFICANT, I THINK, THAN ANY OF THE STANDARDS THAT WE OTHER STANDARDS THAT WE COULD ADOPT, BECAUSE THAT MEANS THIS CONTROLS THE NUMBER OF LOCATIONS OF WHERE THEY CAN GO. SO IT'S ONLY IN ONE ZONING DISTRICT. NOW WITHIN THE I AM, WE'VE ALSO INCREASED THE MINIMUM SIZE BY ELIMINATING THE IG. SO NOW WE HAVE FURTHER, REGULATIONS ON MINIMUM SIZE REQUIREMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN INCREASED. WE'VE ALSO ONE OF THE MAJOR ELEMENTS OF FEEDBACK THAT WE'D HEARD WAS TO INCREASE THE DISTANCE TO SENSITIVE RECEPTORS TO 500FT. WE'VE RECEIVED A LOT OF FEEDBACK IN TERMS OF PREFERENCES ON WHAT THAT SETBACK SHOULD BE. WE'VE MEASURED EVERY POSSIBLE VARIATION OF THAT. WE'VE IDENTIFIED EVERY POSSIBLE SENSITIVE RECEPTOR, OUR REGULATIONS, BY STATE AND LAW, NEED TO ALLOW REASONABLY ALLOW LOCATIONS FOR DATA CENTERS TO GO INTO THE CITY. SO 500FT SEEMS, A DISTANCE REQUIREMENT THAT WILL STILL ALLOW SOME, DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT, BUT WILL ELIMINATE, MANY OF THE OTHER ONES THAT WOULD HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN THROUGH WITH THE IG. SO THESE ARE BIG IMPROVEMENTS IN TERMS OF STRENGTHENING THE REGULATIONS. WE TRIED DOING IT. SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE HEARD IS GO 1000FT.THAT'LL TAKE OUT ALL OF THE PROPERTIES. IT REALLY CAN'T BE DONE, I THINK LEGALLY. OTHER FEEDBACK. WE'VE SAID 750. WE'VE, WE'VE TRIED IT A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS AND HAVE LEARNED THAT, 500FT SEEMS TO BE THE MAXIMUM THAT WE CAN GET AND STILL HAVE A LEGALLY DEFENSIBLE ORDINANCE, DECOMMISSIONING AND SITE RESTORATION PLAN WAS ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT ELEMENT, INCLUDING FINANCIAL SECURITY REQUIRED. ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONCERNS IS REGARDING THE LONG TERM VIABILITY OF THE USE. AND WHAT HAPPENS AS THIS USE CHANGES RAPIDLY AND PROJECTS LEAVE.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE COMMUNITY. SO THERE WILL BE RESTORATION PLANS AND FINANCIAL SECURITY REQUIRED. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DEMAND FOR ADDITIONAL TRANSPARENCY AND INFORMATION SHARING. AND AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, ADDITIONAL SOUND STUDY AND THIRD PARTY REQUIREMENTS INCLUDING D, B, C AND DBA BASED MEASUREMENTS. THAT REALLY CONCLUDES MY COMMENTS HERE TONIGHT. I DO WANT TO MENTION ACTUALLY ONE MORE THING, ANY REVISIONS. THE OPTIONS HERE ARE TO APPROVE TO NOT APPROVE OR TO REQUEST REVISIONS IF ANY REVISIONS ARE REQUESTED. I JUST WANT TO MAKE EVERYONE AWARE THAT THAT REQUIRES US TO GO BACK AND GO BACK TO VARIOUS STEPS ALONG THE WAY. GO BACK TO PLANNING COMMISSION AT THE ALLENTOWN, GO BACK TO LEHIGH VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION, AND THEN COME BACK AND WE'LL MORE THAN WILLING TO DO ANY STEPS THAT ARE REQUIRED AND DESIRED BY CITY COUNCIL. BUT JUST BE AWARE THAT THE CITY CAN ONLY APPLY THE REGULATIONS THAT ARE IN EFFECT AT THE TIME OF OF THE CITY. SO THAT CONCLUDES MY COMMENTS AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO NEXT UP, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE DAIS ON? BILL 52. OKAY. AND NEXT UP IS COURTESY OF THE FLOOR. THIS AGAIN IS ONLY FOR BILL 52. AND
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I WANT TO REMIND THE PUBLIC, YOU WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AT THE NEXT MEETING TO, COMMENT PUBLICLY ON NOT ONLY BILL 52, BUT THE NOISE ORDINANCE THAT WE, WE ARE VOTING ON TONIGHT. SO, ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON BILL 52? CATHERINE HOFFMAN OKAY, THAT'S ME AGAIN. I LIVE IN ALLENTOWN. OKAY. CAN YOU SPEAK TO CAN YOU SPEAK TO COUNCIL, PLEASE? YES. THANK YOU. I REALLY OBJECT TO THE WAY THIS ROOM IS CONFIGURED. I DON'T LIKE TO TURN MY BACK TO CITIZENS, AND I DON'T LIKE TURNING WAY BACK TO YOU. I WISH THERE WAS A WAY TO MAKE IT SO EVERYBODY HAD A FRONT VIEW OF THE SPEAKERS. ANYWAY, SO I, I'VE BEEN AT THESE MEETINGS QUITE A FEW TIMES AND, WHILE I DO NOT SUPPORT DATA CENTERS IN GENERAL, ESPECIALLY NOT THE HUGE ONES THAT ARE MOSTLY BEING PROPOSED AND SOME NOW EXISTING IN DROUGHT STRICKEN AREAS, TAKING UP GOOD FARMLAND. BUT BE THAT AS IT MAY, I'M GLAD THAT THIS PROCESS HAPPENED. I'M GLAD THAT THE PLANNING PEOPLE BROUGHT THESE CHOICES TO YOU AND BROUGHT RULES THAT WILL AT LEAST MODERATE THIS USE. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU OR TO PLANNING, WHICH IS HOW MANY APPLICATIONS ARE CURRENTLY PENDING FOR OTHER DATA CENTERS BESIDES THIS ONE? DOES ANYONE KNOW? I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY, BUT INTERNALLY, THE CITY, THE CITY ADMINISTRATION MIGHT HAVE THAT INFORMATION. I'M NOT SURE IF THEY HAVE IT WITH THEM RIGHT NOW. DOES PLANNING KNOW? YEAH.IT'S IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT, WE CAN MAYBE GET GET BACK TO THE PUBLIC ON THAT. WE JUST RECEIVED ANOTHER APPLICATION AND, WE HAVE THE. LANDOWNER CURATIVE AMENDMENT THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY FILED. SO THAT'S JUST ONE THAT'S STILL PENDING. OR WE RECEIVED ONE JUST BEFORE THIS MEETING, ONE THAT WE'VE RECEIVED BEFORE THIS MEETING. HOLD ON. LET. MR. HE'S TRYING TO AVOID THE QUESTION. NO SHE'S NOT. HOLD ON. SO WE JUST RECEIVED ONE RECENTLY. YES. SO THAT WOULD MEAN TWO TOTAL BECAUSE WE HAVE A MORSE AVENUE. SO THERE'S ONE CURRENTLY THAT'S GOING THROUGH THE LAND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. WE JUST RECEIVED ONE A COUPLE OF HOURS AGO. AND THERE'S THE PROPERTY OWNER WITH THE LANDOWNER CURATIVE AMENDMENT THAT WAS FILED AND CURRENTLY ON HOLD. BUT THAT'S NOT AN APPLICATION. OKAY. SO TWO SO THERE'S 3223.
YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. SO I JUST WANT TO SAY I WOULD SUPPORT THE PROCESS THAT'S HAPPENED. AND IT'S HAPPENED BECAUSE OF ALL OF US COMING AND THE CAMELOT PEOPLE COMING. AND I HOPE THAT, THIS GETS PUBLICIZED BECAUSE I WAS JUST TRAVELING ON ROUTE 309 TODAY IN NORTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP, AND THERE'S TONS OF SIGNS SAYING VOTE NO ON ATLAS DATA CENTER. SO THEY'RE FACING A BIG DATA CENTER THERE AND THERE. IT LOOKS LIKE THE POPULACE IS ORGANIZING. SO THAT'S MY COMMENT. THANK YOU. YEAH. ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON BILL 52 ON THE ORDINANCE? ALICIA RUTHRAUFF. HI, MY NAME IS ALICIA. I'M AN ALLENTOWN RESIDENT, BUT TONIGHT I'M ACTUALLY SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY GROUP. LEHIGH VALLEY STANDS UP. THANK YOU TO COUNCIL FOR YOUR TIME, I APPRECIATE IT. I JUST WANTED TO SPEAK TO ENCOURAGE COUNCIL TO APPROVE BILL 52. AS IT STANDS, THE AMENDMENTS THAT ARE BEING MADE TO CHAPTER SIX, 60 OF THE ZONING CODE ARE, ARE GREAT. I REALLY APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE REMOVAL OF THE IGG DISTRICT, ADDING THE DECOMMISSIONING REQUIREMENTS, INCREASING THE SETBACK, ADDING THE PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS, AMONG OTHER THINGS. I APPRECIATE THE ZONING BOARD, THE PLANNING DIRECTOR, THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S FOR GETTING THIS THROUGH SO QUICKLY AFTER THE PASSAGE OF BILL 20. WE REALLY GENUINELY APPRECIATE THIS. ALL OF THESE AMENDMENTS ARE NEEDED IN THIS TIME WHERE WE'RE SEEING AN ABSOLUTELY UNPRECEDENTED RISE IN THESE DATA CENTER PROPOSALS, ESPECIALLY LARGE AND HYPERSCALE PROPOSALS. I HAD WRITTEN DOWN THAT WE'VE SEEN SIX IN THE LAST YEAR. IT SEEMS LIKE WE'VE NOW SEEN AT LEAST SEVEN, PROPOSALS IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY. WE, WE KNOW IT'S GOING TO KEEP GOING UP, AND OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR POWER GRIDS, OUR WATER TABLES, THEY'RE JUST, THEY'RE NOT EQUIPPED TO HANDLE THIS EXPONENTIAL INCREASE. THERE ARE BETTER USES FOR THESE LOCATIONS THAT WOULD BE BETTER FOR OUR
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COMMUNITY, BRING MORE JOBS AND USE LESS OF OUR RESOURCES, AND BE LESS OF A NUISANCE TO THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE, INCLUDING MYSELF. SO I AM ASKING COUNCIL TO PASS BILL 52 THESE AMENDMENTS AND KEEP THE DOOR OPEN FOR FUTURE AMENDMENTS, SO THAT WE STAND THE BEST CHANCE OF ENSURING THAT WHAT GETS DEVELOPED IN OUR COMMUNITY IS WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. NOAH ROSENFELD. HELLO. MY NAME IS NOAH ROSENFELD. I LIVE AT 2400 WEST CHEW STREET. I'M A STUDENT AT MUHLENBERG COLLEGE, AND I'M INTERNING THIS SUMMER WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COUNCIL THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MUHLENBERG COLLEGE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. WHEN I FIRST GOT THIS INTERNSHIP THIS SPRING, THE GOAL OF THE INTERNSHIP WAS TO WRITE A REPORT ON A TOPIC RELEVANT TO SUSTAINABILITY AND OR THE ENVIRONMENT IN ALLENTOWN. WHEN I STARTED ON JUNE 1ST, AT THE BEGINNING OF WHAT WOULD BE A SUBSTANTIALLY HEIGHTENED PERIOD OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND DISCUSSION SURROUNDING DATA CENTERS, A NEW DATA CENTERS WOULD BE THE FOCUS OF MY SUMMER, WHICH IS CONCLUDING WITH THIS PUBLIC HEARING ON BILL 20 OR BILL 52. IN EARLY JUNE. I LEARNED A GREAT DEAL ABOUT DATA CENTER LEGISLATION, THE OVERARCHING SYSTEMS AT PLAY AFFECTING DATA CENTERS AND CITIZENS, AND HOW THE CITY AND GOVERNMENT WORKS IN GENERAL. I'M GRATEFUL TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GAIN A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION THROUGH DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CHAIR OF THE EAC, KYLE ROFSKY. IN ADDITION TO NUMEROUS CITY OFFICIALS AND ADVISORS WHO WERE KIND ENOUGH TO SPEAK TO ME DURING THIS TIME, I ALSO ATTENDED CITY MEETINGS AND STARTED SUMMARIZING PUBLIC COMMENTS SURROUNDING IMPROVEMENTS TO BILL 20. THIS PUBLIC COMMENT SUMMARY DOCUMENT WAS ATTACHED WITH THE EAC'S JUNE 22ND RECOMMENDATION LETTER, WHICH WAS INCLUDED ON CITY COUNCIL'S JUNE 24TH MEETING AGENDA. FOR MY FINAL PROJECT, I'VE COMPILED A REPORT ANALYZING THE CITY'S PAST AND POTENTIAL FUTURE ACTIONS REGARDING DATA CENTER LEGISLATION. AS OF AUGUST 5TH, 2026. THIS REPORT PROVIDES A CHRONOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN'S ACTIONS RELATED TO DATA CENTER LEGISLATION UP TO AUGUST 5TH.IT ALSO DETAILS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE AMENDMENTS AND WAYS TO IMPROVE THE CITY'S TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNICATION. THE GOAL OF THIS REPORT WAS NOT ONLY TO SERVE AS A RESOURCE DOCUMENTING WHAT HAS OCCURRED, BUT ALSO PROVIDE RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS THAT I HOPE WILL BENEFIT THE CITY AND ITS RESIDENTS IN THE FUTURE. AS THIS TOPIC CONTINUES TO UNFOLD, IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS REPORT DISCUSSES ONLY THE CITY'S LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS, NOT OTHER OCCURRENCES IN THE CITY, SUCH AS SPECIFIC DATA CENTER PROPOSALS. THIS REPORT DISCUSSES HOW THE CITY DEVELOPED SEVERAL PIECES OF LEGISLATION RELATED TO DATA CENTERS THAT HOLISTICALLY REGULATE POTENTIAL HARMFUL EFFECTS OF DATA CENTERS LOCALLY AND INCLUDE ADDITIONAL PUBLIC NOTIFICATION PROVISIONS. SPECIFIC ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS THE CITY MAY CONSIDER INCLUDE THE ALLENTOWN CITY PLANNING COMMISSION'S REQUEST TO CONSIDER A REQUIREMENT OF A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT IN THE DESIGN. THE ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COUNCIL SUGGESTIONS REGARDING HEAT MITIGATION FROM ITS JUNE 22ND LETTER, AND A REVIEW OF PUBLIC SUGGESTIONS FROM JUNE 1ST TO JUNE 17TH, COMPILED IN MY OFFICIAL PUBLIC COMMENT SUMMARY. UNOFFICIAL PUBLIC COMMENT SUMMARY SUGGESTIONS OFFERED TO IMPROVE THE CITY'S TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNICATION INCLUDE RESPONDING IN WRITING TO EACH SUGGESTION ON THE PUBLIC COMMENT SUMMARY, ENSURING THE ACCURACY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF MEETING MATERIALS, AND RAISING AWARENESS OF LEGISLATIVE AND PLANNING DEVELOPMENTS IN ALLENTOWN. ADDRESSING THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS REPORT MAY GRANT THE CITY FURTHER PROTECTION FROM ANY POTENTIAL NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF DATA CENTERS, BOOST PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE CITY'S TRANSPARENCY, AND DEMONSTRATE THE CITY'S ATTENTION TO PUBLIC CONCERNS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO THAT WRAPS UP PUBLIC COMMENT. AGAIN, THE MEETING FOLLOWING THIS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING WILL BE OUR TRADITIONAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING, WHERE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO HAVE COURTESY OF THE FLOOR ON THESE TOPICS. SO AT THIS POINT, WE ARE GOING TO ADJOURN THE PUBLIC HEARING, AND WE'LL START
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.