Okay, uh we're gonna we're gonna start uh our special meeting.

Uh we'll start with a roll call, please.

Miss Girlock here, Miss Santos here, uh Mr.

Bender.

Present.

Ms.

Moda, here, Mr.

Natalie.

Here, Mr.

Pongo?

Here and Miss Affa is calling in right on the phone.

All right, Miss Sappha, we're starting the meeting.

We're all here.

Okay, great.

Um so the purpose of this meeting, uh, was want to start by saying I called the special meeting to introduce Bill 52, which are amendments created to strengthen section 660-38 point H of the city zoning ordinance governing data center use.

Can you please read the bill?

Amending part two general legislation, chapter 660 zoning, article five uses, table 660-4, use table, and section 660-38 manufacturing and industry group, adding public notice requirements and amending the use category data center use.

Okay, thank you.

Um I'm gonna take a moment to at least um talk about where we've been, uh where we are and where we're going.

Uh just give an overview of the process.

So the administration created bill uh the first data center regulations, and bill 20 was introduced at the March 4th council uh meeting and referred to the Allentown Planning Commission and the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

After those extensive reviews, it came back to our CED, which is our community economic development committee meeting on May 14th.

During that CED meeting, a few committee members, including myself, voiced opinions that the bill should be strengthened.

But we learned that amending the bill at that time would send it back to the starting process, and the city would go approximately another 90 days with no regulations in place governing data centers.

Our first council meeting to act on the bill was June 4th.

The bill was tabled so council could conduct an executive session to obtain legal opinions and better understand our options going forward.

Our second council meeting to act on the bill was on June 17th.

The bill passed by a four to two vote to place the data center regulations in the city code.

During that meeting, I agreed amendments were necessary and assured my colleagues I would place an urgency on that process.

So here we are.

As long as we get the appropriate approvals, this is the timeline I'm looking at going forward.

Bill 52 will be referred to our CED committee meeting, which takes place immediately after this special meeting.

It's Chair Girls Committee.

There will be discussion on the amendments and an opportunity for members of the public to participate via courtesy of the floor.

The reviews will be sent to Allentown Planning Commission again and Leah Valley Planning Commission for reviews, but the difference is both have assured that a speedy process will happen to maintain our timeline.

The first legal ad will be posted on July 7th for a public hearing to be held on August 5th.

This is important since pending ordinance status would begin on that date, July 7th.

That means from June, June 18th to July 7th, a total of 20 to 20 days will be between the passage of Bill 20 and our amendments.

A lot of us have been discussing noise over the last uh couple months.

That will be introduced at our July 15th council meeting and we're referred to a committee on July 22nd.

The plan is to bring that back in front of council August 5th, the same time.

So we will have the amendments for um Bill 52 and our noise amendments uh both in front of us on August 5th.

Uh we'll have our public hearing and council meeting, and we will act on bill 52 and again the noise ordinance.

Both will address data center controls and regulations.

Um just want to let everyone know what the plan is, the dates, what we're looking at, but we are targeting August 5th as uh an opportunity to uh to wrap this amendment process up.

And listen, the one thing that we I can be assured of, there will be more.

Um this this this use continues to evolve, it continues to move to change, you know, in a very rapid pace.

Our job is and the administration's job, who's been very supportive of us with the amendments, is continuing to work and find ways to improve our regulations because as you know, we cannot exclude data centers from the city of Allentown.

And I'm I'm it's just something that goes against state law, and uh the best we can do is we can regulate them and control them to protect our residents in the community.

So um there will be constant changes in the constant amendments.

This is the first batch, um, and I'm really proud of the administration and my colleagues for getting this batch to the to the starting point so quickly since our last meeting.

So that said, um, I'm gonna uh we are this, but first any comments from the public um before we move to our CED meeting.

There would be an opportunity there to do public comment.

So okay.

Yep.

Okay.

So I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna refer this to Chair Gurlock's committee, CED, which is immediately after this meeting.

I'm also gonna refer this to the Allentown Planning Commission, and I'm gonna refer it to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission so they can get their reviews back in time by our August 5th meeting.

So that said, I'm gonna adjourn this meeting, and our next meeting is uh CED, which begins in five minutes.

So thank you, everyone.