BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem City Council voted 7-0 Tuesday to give initial approval to the city’s first zoning rules for data centers, which face a final vote Oct. 20.
Bethlehem’s zoning code currently treats a data center like any other industrial use, with no added limits, Planning and Zoning Director Cathy Fletcher told council. The new rules would add a public hearing, require studies on water, power, noise and heat, and keep data centers at least 1,000 feet from homes and schools.
The rules will not cover the one data center already proposed in the city, a project on Industrial Drive that could not be built under them…