By Josh McKnight | The McKnight Team
Falls Township supervisors voted to declare part of their zoning ordinance substantially invalid and launch a six month rewrite that will finally define data centers. Morrisville Borough Council did the same thing days later, opening its own 180 day curative amendment process.
The Bucks County data center driving all of this was approved back in March 2025. The campus will draw up to 4.4 million gallons of water daily.
Where Each Municipality Stands
Falls Township moved first. Hundreds of residents and activists packed a town hall on July 14 to protest the Amazon Web Services campus approved in March 2025 for the former United States Steel Fairless Works site along the Delaware River. The facility plans nearly 300 backup gas generators. Supervisors responded by declaring part of the zoning ordinance substantially invalid, which starts a six month clock to write real definitions and real limits.
Morrisville Borough Council followed with a 180 day curative amendment process of its own. Borough officials say the new rules will cover setbacks from homes, noise limits, water use and size restrictions. Neither action undoes what is already approved. Officials in both places have been clear about that. The rewrites govern what comes next.
What a Bucks County Data Center Actually Changes for Your Home
Here is the part that gets lost. The zoning fight is about the next project, not this one. The approved campus is approved. What actually moves your home value near a site like this is not the zoning text. It is noise, truck traffic, water draw and what happens to your utility bill. Those are operating questions. They show up years after a vote.
Set that against what the numbers show right now. The typical Bucks County home value is $533,660, up 3.2 percent over the past year, and the county median sale price was $503,200 in May, per Zillow data through June 30, 2026. Homes went to pending in about six days. There were 1,271 homes for sale, and 52.4 percent of sales closed over list price.
That is not a market bracing for damage. That is a market with almost no slack in it.
Why Your Utility Bill Matters More Than the Zoning Text
Pennsylvania’s average monthly electric bill went from $213 in 2024 to $257 in 2026, a 20 percent jump in two years, according to the state’s Independent Fiscal Office. Wholesale prices on the PJM Interconnection grid climbed from $55.50 per megawatt hour in 2024 to $136.50 in early 2026. The price to compare rate that sets your default utility charge rose 12 percent this June. Over four years, electricity costs in Pennsylvania are up 35 percent against roughly 16 to 19 percent inflation in the state’s major metro areas.
Data center demand is one of the drivers named in that reporting. It is not the only one. Transmission constraints and fuel costs are in there too, and reasonable people land differently on how much weight to give each. Both things can be true.
What is not in dispute is where the cost lands. A buyer qualifying for a mortgage gets underwritten on principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Nobody underwrites the electric bill. If you know somebody shopping in Lower Bucks right now, that is the number worth showing them.
What This Means for You
If you are selling in Falls Township, Morrisville or the surrounding Lower Bucks area, do not wait for the six month rewrite to finish. Your buyer pool is strong right now, and the news cycle around this project is only going to get louder. If you are buying, ask for twelve months of actual utility bills before you write an offer, and read the township meeting minutes covering the parcels near the one you like.
Pricing your home correctly in this part of the county takes more than an online estimate and a guess about what a data center does to a block. It takes recent comparable sales and a read on how buyers are behaving. Our Levittown market page tracks what is selling and at what pace, so you can see your own price band clearly.
Thinking about buying or selling in Lower Bucks County? Let’s talk.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Bucks County Data Center
Will a data center lower my property value in Bucks County?
There is no evidence of that in the current numbers. Bucks County home values are up 3.2 percent over the past year to a typical $533,660, and homes still go to pending in about six days.
How much water will the Falls Township data center use?
The approved campus plans to draw up to 4.4 million gallons of water daily. It also plans nearly 300 backup gas generators. Both figures came out during the public objections that preceded the zoning vote.
Can Falls Township stop the Amazon data center now?
No. Township officials have said the zoning rewrite does not undo a project approved in March 2025. The six month process governs future applications and sets definitions that did not exist in the older code.
What happens when the six month zoning rewrite ends?
Falls Township and Morrisville each expect to adopt rules covering setbacks from homes, noise limits, water use and size. Watch the township and borough meeting agendas, because the draft language is where the real limits get set.
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