The Springdale Zoning Hearing Board has been left to mull more than a half dozen requests from developers of the proposed data center in the borough after a lengthy meeting Wednesday night.

Board Solicitor Charles Clark said he expects the board to render a decision within 30 to 45 days.

Stretching for nearly five hours, the hearing saw developers ask the board to allow them to increase the height of the data center building to a total of 75 feet and raise its perimeter fence height to 8 feet in addition to other, smaller variances.

Borough ordinances restrict building heights to 45 feet, or 60 feet with equipment on the roof, and fences to a 7-foot height limit.

Attorney Anna Jewart, who represents developer Allegheny DC Property Co., tried to make the case that the company couldn’t build an economically viable center without the proposed variances, which could result in financial hardship for the firm.

By now a familiar face in Springdale, Paul D’Onofrio, the project’s lead architect, spent about three hours fielding questions.

He said the land presents developers with challenges that restrict buildable area at the site of the former Cheswick Generating Station. Those limitations include the plot’s shape, nearby Tawny Run, the abutting St. Mark’s Cemetery and high-tension wires, D’Onofrio said.

The architect said technological requirements within the proposed center meant developers would need a higher buildable area.

“We asked for just what we need for what we believe to make it work, and we’re not asking for anything more,” D’Onofrio said.

Tom Kloehn, an attorney who was hired by Springdale resident Mitch Karaica, argued that Allegheny DC could build a center within Springdale’s ordinances but that the developers simply sought the variances to make the property more attractive to potential tenants.

Karaica, who lives directly across Porter Street from the proposed development, said the center would alter the view from his property, potentially leaving him “walled in.”

He urged the zoning board to reject the developers’ requests.

As for the perimeter, D’Onofrio said a 7-foot fence would present a potential security risk, which would require the company to construct a barbed wire fence. If given the extra foot, he said, the company could construct a more aesthetically pleasing “anti-climb” fence, which he described as the “industry standard.”

In addition to the height requests, developers are seeking a handful of other variances that would make minor changes to onsite parking requirements and decrease the number of mandatory loading docks.

Landscape architect Robert Maloney and civil engineer Mark Laborte also offered brief testimony to supplement D’Onofrio.

The hearing, occasionally plagued by acoustic issues, took place in a gymnasium attached to the Springdale Borough Building after last week’s borough council meeting drew more than 100 attendees to the small council chambers.

Seated beneath basketball hoops, around two dozen residents appeared on Wednesday, some objecting to the variance requests.

Resident Kailyn Wood said the center could act as a deterrent for families seeking to move to the borough.

“This would ruin the character of my hard-working, blue-collar Springdale,” she said.

If the zoning board rejects the developers’ variance requests, Jewart said her firm would plan to appeal the decision in Allegheny County Court.

Kloehn said he was unsure if he would do the same.

The borough’s planning commission is set to reconvene at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27 to potentially offer its recommendation to approve or reject Allegheny DC’s conditional use application and discuss conditions.

Borough council will reconvene Nov. 24 for its next round of testimony.

For a guide to the upcoming hearings, click here. To see the details of the data center proposal, click here.

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