CHAMBERSBURG – The Franklin County Board of Commissioners this week were presented with a path to regulate data centers and moved funds to departments that went over budget in 2025.
Planning Director Quentin Clapper and Solicitor Elliott Sulcove presented a draft ordinance to regulate data centers in the county. The ordinance would amend the existing Subdivision and Land Use Ordinance, creating a 1,000-foot setback (the minimum distance which a building or other structure must be set back from a street).
It would require any proposals submitted to have a “solar-ready” roof and to generate at least 25% of needed power via onsite solar panels. It would also set noise limits, ensure dense landscape buffers and require a decommissioning bond to cover 100% of the cost to decommission the site if the center were to cease operations.
Unlike zoning regulations which determine where housing, industrial or commercial entities can be built or operated, this ordinance creates design standards. The county ordinance would provide a backstop for townships and boroughs without a standard on file and creates a model which municipalities could adopt into their local standards.
The ordinance will be available for public viewing (both in person and online) and public comment for up to 60 days. At that point, the county will present the public comment to the commissioners, who will then vote on it.
Substance use services with Fulton County
The county accepted funding for their combined substance use services with Fulton County as a “single county authority,” funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. The entity has performed as one system to deliver services such as prevention education, treatment, recovery support, housing assistance and overdose prevention across both counties for nearly two decades. The contract will be funded in increments over its 5-year term, the first of which amounted to $961,846.50 to cover expenses from January through June 2026.
Also on the agenda
Commissioners accepted grants for services with the Children’s Advocacy Center, the Intermediate Punishment Treatment Program and Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness. The commission also
-approved a lease for permanent supportive housing (paid by a federal Housing and Urban Development grant)
-made budget transfers to provide additional funding for expenses that exceeded their 2025 budgets such as: Children and Youth Services, payments to retirees and health insurance claims
-opened bids the county received for ballot printing
-approved payments of $1,111,666.32
Next meeting
The Franklin County Board of Commissioners will hold their first of four yearly evening meetings at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb 18, in room 824 of the Administration Building, 272 N. Second St. and can be streamed online at: https://www.youtube.com/@countycommissioners8113.
