Doylestown Township's Planning Commission will review a draft ordinance regulating data centers for the first time when it meets Monday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m.

The draft Data Center Zoning Ordinance Amendment appears under "Other Business" on the commission's public agenda for the meeting at the township municipal building, 425 Wells Road. The commission's review is a required step before the Board of Supervisors can vote on adoption.

Supervisors unanimously authorized advertisement of the proposed ordinance at their Aug. 24 meeting, as Central Bucks Now reported. No developer has approached the township about building a data center. The township initiated a 180-day curative-amendment process to fill what officials called a gap in the zoning code.

"This is all preventative and to get ahead of it … What we need to do is put parameters around the use," Supervisors Chair Jennifer Herring said at the Aug. 24 meeting.

Township consultant Judy Stern Goldstein told supervisors at that same meeting that the purpose is not to encourage data center use but to define and regulate it so the township can attach conditions.

Under the draft, standalone data centers would be allowed only as conditional uses in the township's light-industrial district. Facilities that serve as parts of hospitals, offices or government buildings would not count as standalone data centers.

The Bucks County Herald reported the draft sets a 60-foot building height limit, including rooftop equipment. Setbacks would be 100 feet from property lines and 200 feet where a facility borders a residential area.

Applicants would also need to submit a preconstruction noise and vibration study by a qualified professional. The township could hire its own specialist to review it at the applicant's expense. A facility that violates noise or vibration standards would have 30 days to fix the problem.

The draft requires an emergency management plan and, if feasible, an analysis of impacts on public electric rates or service reliability. Any harm to the water supply would be the data center's responsibility.

There are legal limits, too. Township Solicitor Michael Clarke cautioned at the August supervisors meeting that restrictions cannot make the use practically impossible. That could amount to a de facto exclusion, invalidate the ordinance and let a data center locate elsewhere in the township.

The supervisors also discussed the ordinance at their Sept. 15 meeting. The outcome of that discussion has not been made public.

Doylestown Township is not alone. New Britain Township launched its own six-month curative amendment process in July, and Northampton Township voted in August to advertise a public hearing on a similar ordinance.

Officials said at the Aug. 24 meeting that the ordinance could come up for adoption as early as October if the review process stays on schedule. The supervisors' next regular meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. Monday's Planning Commission meeting is open to the public.