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GRANVILLE -- The Granville Township Zoning Hearing Board will reconvene Jan. 7 to consider whether the township properly rejected a zoning permit application for a proposed data center campus off Loop Road.
The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Granville Fire Co. Event Center, 105 Malta Drive, WHTM reported. The board recessed without a decision after hearing two hours of testimony and arguments Oct. 26. About 150 people attended.
PA Data Center Partners, a Cumberland County firm, is appealing the township's decision to return its application as incomplete. The developer proposes a 1.54 million-square-foot complex on two parcels totaling 245.5 acres on either side of the Mifflin County Industrial Park.
Township Manager Mary Herto rejected the application after determining it lacked a required certification for the project's traffic impact study. At the October hearing, Herto testified that her initial review was meant to ensure the application included all required materials before she forwarded it for technical review.
Shawn Gallinger, an attorney for the developer, argued that the traffic study was properly certified and that the application met the zoning ordinance's requirements. He also questioned whether Herto had the authority to reject the application at that stage.
Township officials argued that the ordinance required a separate certification covering the entire traffic study. They also questioned the credentials of the engineer who certified portions of the study, saying he did not obtain his professional engineering registration until May 2026, after he had already performed much of his work on the project.
The board heard testimony from Catherine Wilsbach, director of land development at LIVIC Civil, the engineering firm that prepared the application. Board solicitor Jeff Stover and attorney Bill Cluck, who represents the nonprofit No Data Centers in Mifflin County, also participated. The parties agreed to submit legal briefs outlining their arguments.
The October hearing was originally scheduled for Oct. 1 but was postponed after residents raised concerns that the township municipal building could not accommodate everyone who wanted to attend.
The developer filed its plans in July, days before township supervisors were set to consider starting a curative amendment process. The township returned the application days later, and a separate town hall where residents were to hear from the developer was canceled.