Reading City Council reviewed a 23-page, fourth-draft zoning amendment during a committee of the whole meeting that would allow data centers as a conditional use in heavy manufacturing and manufacturing commercial districts, requiring individual council approval for each project. The proposal addresses setbacks, floodplains, landscaping, noise, vibration, water and wastewater infrastructure, electricity use, and environmental impacts. One unresolved issue is the setback distance from preservation districts: the draft considered 1,000 feet but mapping showed that could eliminate so much industrial property that the ordinance would become overly restrictive, and the committee is now considering reducing it to 500 feet. Officials expect to finalize edits before sending the draft to Berks County for a required 30-day review, followed by planning commission review, a public hearing, and council consideration.
Reading's process illustrates the regulatory gap many mid-sized cities are rushing to close: the city initiated a formal municipal curative amendment after councilman Jaime Baez Jr. identified the absence of any data center provisions in the existing zoning ordinance. The conditional use framework being developed, including ongoing inspections and compliance monitoring after a facility opens, could serve as a model for similarly sized dense urban communities managing data center siting pressure.
A municipality formally deliberating data center zoning rules reflects the accelerating trend of local governments moving to regulate the sector. Reading joining this list of cities enacting formal land-use controls is regionally significant.