Data center restrictions tracker · Pennsylvania

City of Scranton, Pennsylvania: data center zoning exclusion (2026)

Data snapshot 2026-08-15 · part of Pricing the Fear of Data Centers

City of Scranton, in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on March 17, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is pending.

The record reads: "Scranton City, Pennsylvania, Council introducing an amendment to the 2023 zoning ordinance to regulate data centers, following advice from Lackawanna County planners that municipalities should address data centers proactively. The… (datacentertracker.org)."

Details

ActionClassStatusDateMW thresholdScopeSource
Zoning exclusionrestrictionpendingMarch 17, 2026not county-widedatacentertracker.org

Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Lackawanna County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.

Elsewhere in Lackawanna County

Pennsylvania context

Pennsylvania has 50 documented local actions across 48 jurisdictions in this snapshot. There is no statewide restriction, incentive rollback, or large-load tariff on record for Pennsylvania in this snapshot.

A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.

Sources

Back to Pricing the Fear of Data Centers