LEWISTOWN — Granville Township officials received a proposed data center land development plan just minutes before the township office closed Friday, prompting discussion during an emergency supervisors meeting Sunday attended by residents from Mifflin County and surrounding communities.

With about 100 people in attendance, residents urged township officials to oppose the project, with several speakers calling on Granville to become the first Pennsylvania municipality to take a stand against large-scale data center development.

Among those addressing the board was Pennsylvania Green Party gubernatorial candidate Tony Dastra, of Lancaster.

“It takes just one voice, one person, one municipality to stand up for the people,” Dastra said. “This municipality could be that one, to not only protect its own community but protect communities like mine. We all across the state need some municipality to step up.”

According to township officials, the proposed plans were submitted Friday at 3:34 p.m., shortly before the township office closed.

The meeting had originally been scheduled to consider a curative amendment, a process residents requested during a May meeting.

Supervisors Joseph Fiore and Terry Stewart said Sunday they had been willing to pursue a curative amendment but instead followed the recommendation of the township solicitor to continue developing a zoning ordinance addressing data centers.

Officials said under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, a municipality may declare its zoning ordinance invalid if it fails to adequately provide for a lawful land use. Filing a municipal curative amendment temporarily protects the municipality from competing landowner curative amendments while a new ordinance is prepared.

Township Solicitor Fred Lighty said he did not believe pursuing that option was the best course of action and said he continues to stand by that decision.

Public comment focused on both the township’s handling of the proposed project and the timing of the application.

Granville Township resident Nate Fisher said he was disappointed with township officials, alleging there have been “backhanded deals” related to the proposal and vowing to continue seeking answers about the project’s history.

Resident Cori Hockenberry questioned Lighty about what she described as a “gentleman’s agreement” with representatives of the proposed data center to delay submitting an application until after the township adopted its ordinance.

Lighty responded that he assumes the developer saw something in the proposed ordinance that it did not like and decided to submit its plans sooner.

According to documents discussed at the meeting, the proposal involves two properties. One parcel is owned by Kevin and Lisa Oberholtzer, with the property surrounding Walmart, off of Middle Road.

The second property is located at 841 Loop Road, Lewistown, and is owned by Mark Ellinger and Nancy Collins.

Fisher noted that the submission received Friday represents only a proposed plan that must still proceed through multiple review and approval steps.

“What was presented Friday is only plans for a proposed data center that have to go through other steps to be approved,” Fisher said. “There may be hope yet.”

Lighty told those in attendance that while township officials could ultimately approve or deny the proposal based on applicable regulations, the proposed data center ordinance expected to be discussed during Wednesday’s town hall meeting would not apply to the current application because it was submitted before the ordinance could be adopted.

He said the proposed ordinance would instead govern future data center proposals and impose significantly more stringent regulations on similar developments. Lighty added that he hopes the current developer will voluntarily comply with many of the ordinance’s proposed standards.