Data center developer offers 4,500 Pennsylvania households $10,000 if project gets all approvals

NorthPoint Development proposed a campus of up to 15 data-center buildings in Hazel Township in Pennsylvania, and it's offering 4,500 residents around the planned site $10,000 if the project gets built. 

The checks to eligible households are part of a larger, $60 million community-benefit proposal that includes funding for education, workforce training, arts, recreation, and youth programs. Another $105 million would be given to the township at approximately $7 million annually over 15 years, Gadget Review reported. 

The 1,300-acre project has a number of hurdles to clear before construction can begin. Township supervisors voted 3-0 in November to deny NorthPoint land-development plans, and a Luzerne County judge directed the company to pursue approval through the zoning hearing board or get a special exception from the supervisors. 

In June, the supervisors enacted a 180-day moratorium on new data-center applications while officials draft new zoning rules. NorthPoint is challenging the rejection in court. 

Some residents have called the $10,000 checks, which are unusual for industrial developers, a bribe. Opponents have cited noise, impacts on the viewshed, potential declines in property values, and water and energy use demands as reasons to deny the permits.