Franklin County adopted its data-center ordinance on May 20, 2026, as a SALDO amendment establishing noise, water, height, and decommissioning standards. The ordinance frames the regulatory process but does not approve projects or override municipal zoning, investors must clear both county and township requirements before treating any parcel as development-ready.
What does Franklin County's data-center ordinance mean for real estate investors?
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Franklin County adopted its data-center ordinance on May 20, 2026, as an amendment to the county's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO). It sets baseline standards for noise, water impact, electrical service, environmental review, and decommissioning security, but it does not approve any specific project, create incentives, or override the zoning authority of individual townships and boroughs. For investors, the ordinance defines the rules of the game; it does not guarantee a winning parcel.
Key Takeaways
- Franklin County's data-center ordinance, adopted May 20, 2026, establishes county-level SALDO standards but leaves project approval authority with individual municipalities.
- The ordinance caps data-center building height at 35 feet, a hard design constraint that affects site planning, equipment layout, and expansion feasibility.
- Investors must clear municipal zoning approval in addition to county SALDO requirements, the county framework alone does not make a parcel development-ready.
- Pennsylvania offers a sales-and-use-tax exemption for qualifying data-center equipment, but certification does not substitute for land-use or utility approvals.
- Farmland, irrigation impacts, and water availability are material local risk factors the county specifically addressed in revisions to the ordinance.
What does the Franklin County data-center ordinance actually regulate?
The county's SALDO amendment covers a specific set of technical and environmental subjects. Understanding each one tells you exactly what a project's due-diligence checklist needs to look like.
Noise, utilities, and environmental impact
The ordinance addresses noise limits, electrical-service verification, water-impact studies, and environmental and community-impact analysis. These are not soft suggestions. Each one represents a study, a report, or an engineering deliverable that a project must produce before it can move through the approval process. In my experience working with investors on large land tracts in Franklin County, the utility and water questions alone can add weeks to a feasibility timeline, and they can kill a deal on a parcel that looks perfect on paper.
The county specifically revised its proposal to address impacts on agricultural irrigation and valuable farmland, according to the county's revision announcement. Franklin County is farm country. A site that scores well on acreage and road access may still fail after water and agricultural review. That is a screening factor I walk every land-acquisition client through before we even talk about offer price.
The 35-foot height limit and what it means for site planning
The adopted SALDO amendment sets a maximum building height of 35 feet for data centers. That is a concrete design constraint. Modern hyperscale data centers often push height to reduce footprint, so a 35-foot cap means a project needs more land to achieve the same square footage. Site plans should test whether required equipment, screening, setbacks, fire access, stormwater facilities, and any future expansion phase can fit within that limit before you assign value to a parcel.
Decommissioning security and what it means for ownership structure
The ordinance requires financial security for future decommissioning. This is a provision that surfaces late in the financing process and catches investors off guard. Your underwriting needs to identify who provides that security, how long the obligation runs, what triggers a release, and whether it transfers with the property at sale. The exact instrument and amount must be confirmed from the adopted ordinance and from any municipal approval documents, I always tell clients to treat this as a deal-structure question, not a footnote.
What steps does an investor actually need to take?
The county's announcement of the amendment is clear: the county SALDO framework does not replace municipal review. Here is how I frame the process for investors who bring me a Franklin County land question.
Step 1: Municipal screening comes first
Identify the municipality, township or borough, and verify the parcel's zoning district, permitted-use list, and whether the municipality has adopted its own data-center regulations. The county ordinance does not make a use permitted countywide. A parcel in a municipality that has not authorized data centers as a permitted or conditional use is not a viable site, regardless of how well it scores on acreage or utility proximity.
Step 2: Infrastructure feasibility, in writing
A viable parcel requires documented evidence on all of the following before you can model a return:
- Electric service: transmission or distribution capacity for the anticipated load
- Water sourcing: consumption assumptions, availability, and wastewater arrangements
- Noise control: equipment screening and distance from residential or agricultural uses
- Access and emergency response: road capacity and fire-access compliance
- Environmental constraints: natural-resource buffers, floodplain, and wetland review
- Agricultural compatibility: irrigation impacts and proximity to active farmland
These are not optional line items. They correspond directly to the county's published regulatory subjects. If you are comparing sites across Franklin County, the parcel that clears all six categories is worth more than the one that clears three, even if the raw acreage is identical. For a broader look at how large infrastructure investment shapes Franklin County's land market, my post on Walmart fulfillment centers and South Central PA real estate covers the same dynamic from a different angle.
Step 3: Pennsylvania's data-center equipment tax exemption
Pennsylvania provides a sales-and-use-tax exemption for qualifying computer data-center equipment, administered through the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue's Computer Data Center Equipment Program. The program began January 1, 2022. An owner, operator, or qualified tenant must hold a Department of Revenue certificate to claim the exemption. Eligibility and certification requirements should be confirmed with a tax advisor before you build the exemption into a financial model.
One critical distinction: certification for the tax exemption does not mean a project has received zoning, subdivision, land-development, building, environmental, or utility approvals. These are parallel tracks. The tax benefit is only worth modeling after the entitlement path is confirmed.
Step 4: Structure the acquisition to match the risk
A prudent acquisition should make closing conditional on entitlement and infrastructure diligence. Relevant conditions include confirmation of permitted use, satisfactory municipal approvals, utility studies, water and wastewater availability, environmental review, acceptable decommissioning-security obligations, and a documented tenant or operator requirement. Every specific condition should be negotiated in the purchase agreement before you go hard on deposit. This is exactly the kind of deal structure I work through with investment clients before we write an offer.
| Ordinance Requirement | What It Means for Due Diligence |
|---|---|
| Noise limits | Requires equipment screening analysis and distance review from sensitive uses |
| Water-impact study | Documents water sourcing, consumption, and irrigation effects on adjacent farmland |
| Electrical-service verification | Confirms available transmission or distribution capacity for projected load |
| Environmental and community-impact analysis | Addresses natural-resource buffers, agricultural compatibility, and community effects |
| 35-foot maximum building height | Constrains vertical design; increases land-area requirement for equivalent square footage |
| Decommissioning financial security | Creates a long-term obligation that must be identified, sized, and allocated in ownership structure |
| Alternative-energy requirements | May affect site infrastructure planning and utility interconnection timeline |
The ordinance is a risk-allocation framework, not a green light. The county's own materials state that the amendment does not offer incentives or approve a project. Investors who treat the ordinance as a signal of demand without first confirming a site-specific tenant, power availability, a clear municipal approval path, and completed feasibility work are getting ahead of the evidence. For a broader picture of what is driving demand for land in this region, my post on why Franklin and Fulton Counties are attracting buyers for large rural tracts provides useful context.
A note on Washington County, Maryland
Franklin County's SALDO amendment is a Pennsylvania county ordinance. It does not apply across the state line. If you are comparing sites in Washington County, Maryland, you are in a separate regulatory market, different state law, different county zoning, different municipal jurisdiction, different utility and development-review requirements. Any cross-border site comparison needs two independent entitlement analyses, not one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Franklin County's data-center ordinance make my property eligible for a data center?
No. The county SALDO amendment establishes standards for how a data center must be built and operated, but it does not make any specific property eligible. Eligibility depends on the municipality's zoning ordinance and whether the parcel's zoning district permits data centers as a by-right or conditional use. Municipal approval is a separate and required step before any county SALDO review applies.
Do I need municipal zoning approval in addition to the Franklin County SALDO requirements?
Yes, municipal approval is required in addition to county SALDO compliance. The county's own announcement of the amendment confirms that municipalities retain authority over whether and where data centers are permitted under local zoning. The county framework does not override or substitute for township or borough zoning review. Investors should confirm permitted-use status at the municipal level before spending on any county-level feasibility work.
What utility, water, noise, and environmental studies are required for a Franklin County data-center project?
The county ordinance identifies electrical-service verification, water-impact studies, noise-limit compliance, and environmental and community-impact analysis as required regulatory subjects. Each of these corresponds to a formal study or engineering deliverable. The ordinance also addresses alternative-energy requirements, agricultural-irrigation impacts, natural-resource protection, and buffering. The specific scope and format of each required study should be confirmed from the adopted ordinance and from the applicable municipality's land-development procedures.
How does the 35-foot height limit affect a potential data-center site?
The 35-foot maximum building height set by the adopted SALDO amendment means a project cannot build vertically to reduce land consumption. A site that appears adequate in acreage may require significantly more land once setbacks, screening, stormwater, fire access, and future expansion are laid out within that height constraint. Site planners should test the constraint early in feasibility, before land pricing is finalized.
Can investors claim Pennsylvania's data-center equipment sales-tax exemption?
Pennsylvania's Computer Data Center Equipment Program provides a sales-and-use-tax exemption for qualifying equipment purchased, used, or consumed in a certified data center. An owner, operator, or qualified tenant must hold a Department of Revenue certificate. The exemption does not establish zoning eligibility or substitute for land-use approvals, it is a tax benefit that should be modeled only after the entitlement path is confirmed. Verify current eligibility requirements with a Pennsylvania tax advisor.
Who is responsible for decommissioning a data center if the operator leaves?
The Franklin County ordinance requires financial security for future decommissioning, but the specific instrument, amount, and transfer mechanics must be confirmed from the adopted ordinance and from municipal approval conditions. Investors should identify who provides the security, how long the obligation runs, what triggers a release, and whether the obligation transfers with the property at sale. This is a deal-structure question that belongs in the purchase agreement and in lender underwriting, not a detail to resolve after closing.
Franklin County's data-center ordinance creates a defined regulatory framework for a use that is generating real interest in South Central Pennsylvania, but the ordinance is a starting point, not a finish line. The investors who will do well here are the ones who clear the municipal zoning question first, document infrastructure feasibility before going hard on deposit, and build decommissioning and entitlement conditions into their acquisition structure from day one.
If you are evaluating land in Franklin County for data-center development or want to understand how the ordinance affects a parcel you already own, I can walk you through the due-diligence checklist and help you identify whether a site has a realistic path to approval. Reach out to Jay today and let's look at your specific situation together.
Equal Housing Opportunity. Jay Starr is a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson regulated by the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission. This article is general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Confirm all figures, tax eligibility, and transaction details with your title company, tax advisor, or lender.