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After Sunshine Act violation, township plans third try at data center vote
A judge invalidated a Salem Township Planning Commission vote over Sunshine Act violations. The township now plans a third attempt to approve a data center.
By Ford Turner · 2026-09-04T21:04:38.294Z
The Center Square The Planning Commission in a data center saturated township will make a third try to carry out a valid vote tied to a billion dollar data center initiative after learning from The Center Square of a judge's order that invalidated its second vote.
The saga involving the Salem Township Planning Commission in Luzerne County began when eight local plaintiffs without a lawyer sued the township https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article 69459ccb bbda 4101 b489 95a9ad5bb095.html , alleging the commission violated the Sunshine Act at the initial July meeting. A county judge agreed with them.
That triggered a chaotic series of events that culminated with a decision to re do last week's second meeting. One of the plaintiffs, Teri Barren, on Friday said there was a lesson in it for citizens across the state worried about how their local officials are dealing with data centers.
"Stay on top of them and follow them," Barren said. "They slip this stuff in and your whole township is gone and you have no say in it as a resident."
Salem Township, which already has a nuclear plant, also has an Amazon sponsored data center under construction and a second data center sponsored by QTS in the works. The Planning Commission's multiple attempts to pull off a valid vote on a data center zoning "overlay" are related to a third initiative.
In the latest one, local property owners could collectively get more than $1 billion.
The Planning Commission voted 2 1 on July 23 to recommend the overlay for approval by township supervisors. But Barren and fellow plaintiffs alleged among other things that would be spectators were unfairly locked out of the meeting.
In Luzerne County Court in Wilkes Barre on Tuesday, Aug. 25, Judge Lesa Gelb verbally agreed with the plaintiffs. She essentially said the commission had to do the July meeting over because there was not complete access by the public.
Another Planning Commission meeting already was scheduled for two days later on Thursday, the 27th and at that meeting the panel again voted to recommend approval of the overlay. That triggered a slew of news stories and press releases indicating a step forward for the project.
None of the plaintiffs, however, had seen the written version of the judge's order. Nor had the defendants.
An online portal containing Luzerne County Court dockets did not contain the order as late as the following Monday, Aug. 31.
That day, a reporter for The Center Square went to Gelb's chambers in the Wilkes Barre courthouse and obtained a physical copy of the order. Dated Aug. 25, it said the Planning Commission could proceed but the panel was "stayed" https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article 69459ccb bbda 4101 b489 95a9ad5bb095.html from any actions on "the proposed Special Data Center Overlay District or related zoning amendments."
The reporter took the hard copy of the order to the township building the following day Tuesday, Sept. 1 and Township Manager Amy Evans said it was the first the township had seen it. On Friday, Township Solicitor Anthony McDonald confirmed that moment was the first the municipality had been aware of the full contents of the order.
Asked why the township was unaware of them, he said he was not in the courtroom on Aug. 25. McDonald questioned the actions of insurance company attorneys who represent the township when it is sued.
"You would think our attorneys would have given it to us," McDonald said.
Regardless, he said the wording of Gelb's order led to a decision to do the meeting over, yet again.
"We are taking that to mean it has been invalidated," he said of the judge's reference to last week's meeting and staying action on the overlay.
He said, "After we became aware of the order we decided to reschedule the entire Planning Commission meeting."
According to a township staffer, the newly scheduled meeting is to be held Sept. 24 at 5:30 p.m. at Berwick Assembly of God church on East Fifth Street in Berwick.
This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article 7e71a600 5c0a 48f9 9818 3ded22f7087b.html .