Lancaster Online
Data center noise won’t be regulated by Lancaster city ordinances
Chris Reber- Staff Writer
During a news conference Tuesday, July 22, 2025, it was announced that the Lancaster East data center will be developed by Chirisa Technology Parks and Machine Investment Group at the site of the former LSC Communications, 216 Greenfield Road in Lancaster city.
Lancaster city won’t verify claims in a developer’s study that its proposed data center will be noise neutral until it has more details and an independent expert to confirm the data. Regardless of the study’s findings, however, the city’s noise ordinance won’t regulate noise from the air-cooled facility’s fans and backup generators because it doesn’t cover industrial noise. And any future changes to the noise ordinance wouldn’t apply to the development since it has already been approved. Along with electricity usage and air quality, noise is one of the concerns that has been raised repeatedly about the proposed data center inside a former LSC Communications printing plant at 216 Greenfield Road. People living near data centers, particularly ones that are cooled with air instead of water, have reported annoyance and sleep disturbance from the noise the centers generate, according to Rick Neitzel, professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.Neitzel said there’s also evidence that noise disturbances can over the long-term lead to more serious health problems like high blood pressure and increased risk of stroke, not to mention hearing loss. “The science certainly shows that it can be bad for us if we’re exposed at high enough levels for long enough,” Neitzel said.
One of the contractors building a 450,000-square-foot data center at 216 Greenfield Road told reporters that the facility will not add any noise for the residences nearest the site, based on preliminary findings from an acoustical study that is still being finalized. During a press conference at the site last month, Jeffrey Sturla of Wohlsen Construction pointed to the sound of passing cars on nearby Route 30, as well as the fact that the nearest residents live about 1,000 feet away. Neitzel said that while the data center may produce less noise than a highway during the day, the center operates around the clock, including at night, when highway traffic decreases.“Just because you don’t notice it during the day, doesn’t mean that it’s not going to annoy people at night,” Neitzel said. The exact sound levels the Greenfield Road data center will create are still unclear. Requests from LNP | LancasterOnline for details on the study got no response from Wohlsen, co-developers Chirisa Technology Parks and Machine Investment Group, and CoreWeave, the artificial intelligence and cloud computing firm that plans to occupy and invest $6 billion in the facility. City spokesperson Amber Strazzo Righter said the city has not requested a copy of the study because it is still being finalized, and the city is still looking for a consultant to independently assess the findings.