About the Community Benefits Agreement

The City of Lancaster and Chirisa Technology Parks, the developer of the data centers at 216 Greenfield Road and 1375 Harrisburg Pike, negotiated a Community Benefits Agreement to create a legally enforceable way to protect nearby neighborhoods, safeguard the environment, and provide meaningful community benefits.

Community Benefits Agreement Summary

Environmental & Operational Performance Commitments

Noise

  • Operations cannot exceed existing ambient noise levels at nearby homes and parks.
  • Testing will occur before and after sites become operational.
  • Campuses will use low-noise chiller systems and sound-attenuated generator enclosures.
  • Generator testing occurs only during daytime hours, never on Sundays or federal holidays.

Air Quality

  • Full compliance with all state and federal air-emission regulations.
  • Backup generators must use advanced emission-control systems.

Energy

  • All data center buildings will use 100% clean-energy electricity.
  • Owners may enter into long-term energy contracts that fall below 100%, only if they make significant contributions into the City’s Sustainable Development and Clean Energy Fund.

Water & Wastewater

  • Water use is capped at 20,000 gallons per day per campus, significantly less than the use for typical manufacturing. For context, the previous user consumed on average 100,000-125,000 gallons per day.
  • Closed-loop cooling must minimize municipal water use with no added chemicals.
  • Wastewater generation must stay within permitted sewer capacity.

Site Design & Construction Standards

Landscaping, Buffers & Lighting

  • Each campus must have a professionally designed landscape plan; tree canopy and vegetative screening are required.
  • Buffers: 100 feet along public streets and residential or park edges; 50 feet along all other boundaries.
  • All lighting must be in accordance with the principals of the International Dark Sky standards to limit glare and spillover.

Equipment Screening & Building Design

  • Cooling systems, generators, and electrical equipment must be fully enclosed or visually screened.

Climate & Resiliency

  • Plans must address waste-heat reuse, heat-island reduction, stormwater management, and healthy- building strategies.

Operational Responsibilities

Emergency Management

  • Owners must prepare emergency response plans, provide ongoing training for first responders at no cost and reimburse the City for emergency response costs above $25,000 per incident.

E-Waste & Decommissioning

  • A comprehensive e-waste plan must manage equipment throughout the project’s life cycle.-Decommissioned buildings must be safely cleared and closed in compliance with law.

Community Engagement & Workforce Commitments

Transparency & Communication

  • Owners must maintain a public website with project updates, timelines, permits, and a portal for questions or complaints.
  • Each April, Owners must present a public report to City Council on clean-energy usage for each building, and compliance with clean-energy requirements.
  • A formal complaint-response process will be established in consultation with the City.

Local Hiring

  • Owners commit to strong local hiring efforts for both construction and permanent jobs.
  • A Local Hiring Plan will outline percentage goals and engagement strategies such as job fairs and community outreach.

Financial Contributions

  • The owners will contribute $10 million each to two funds:
  • Economic Development Fund, intended to promote the economic vitality of Lancaster City and foster the economic mobility and success of Lancaster City residents. The Lancaster Economic Development Company (EDC) will play a formal role in developing a strategy and administering the deployment of monies, which will be managed by the Lancaster County Community Foundation.
  • Sustainable Development and Clean Energy Fund, managed by the City of Lancaster, whose purpose is to advance environmental sustainability in the City of Lancaster and will draw guidance from the City’s Climate Action Plan, Comprehensive Plan, and other related initiatives.
  • Payments in increments of 2.5 million dollars will be made into each fund at the time of construction financing and on a date within 30 days of beginning data center operations. The payment allocation will be phased per building as the Lancaster AI Hub develops.
  • Upon approval of the CBA, the Owners will make a partial payment of the first contribution in the amount of $250,000 to fund the creation of a strategic plan for use of the Economic Development Fund monies.

Enforcement & Accountability

Default & Remedies for Failure to Comply with Non-Financial Commitments

  • After notice and an opportunity to cure (30-60 days), the City may pursue injunctions or orders requiring compliance with a commitment or other relief, including discontinuance of operations (this is the strongest remedy available).
  • When a property is sold, the new owner must assume all obligations under the agreement.

Ensuring Payments are Made

  • If the owners miss a required payment, the City can:
  • Seek payment through the courts; or
  • Draw money directly from the Letter of Credit or other financial security.
  • Missed payments may incur interest from the due date until paid.

Other

  • Chirisa Technology Parks and its affiliates are not receiving any tax breaks from the City of Lancaster, including Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA).