A group of Newark residents are petitioning the state’s Superior Court to review the development of a data center and power plant on the University of Delaware campus.
Newark Residents Against the Power Plant (NRAPP) moved forward with a legal challenge to the project Tuesday. The group is pointing to four areas where it believes Newark’s Board of Adjustment made errors in deciding not to overturn the city’s zoning certification approval for the facility on UD’s STAR campus.
Those areas are:
- The BoA erred with its decision to rule in favor of the landowner in regard to the ambiguity in the Newark City Code’s definition of “neighborhood”.
- The Newark Board of Adjustment acted inconsistently with its vote on the issue of whether the power plant is incidental and subordinate.
- The BoA was incorrect when it voted that the Director of Planning had the authority to impose zoning conditions--only the Newark City Council can promulgate zoning regulations.
- The BoA made several key procedural errors that are in violation of the law.
The Board of Adjustment made its decision in March, but just issued it formal written opinion earlier this month
The Data Centers LLC seeks to build a 900,000 square foot data storage facility that includes a 279 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant on a 43 acre parcel at the STAR campus, the former site of the Newark Chrysler plant.
