Case File · Orangeburg, New York
A data center next to a two-state reservoir.
DataBank proposed a 146K SF Phase II expansion in Orangeburg, NY — with a 73K SF substation and lithium-ion battery arrays on the banks of Lake Tappan, a drinking water source for communities in New York and New Jersey. Rockland County planning unanimously disapproved it in December 2024.
RealClear AI would have scored this site 30/100 before the first filing fee was paid.
DataBank's LGA3 Orangeburg campus — Phase II would expand onto the banks of Lake Tappan
DataBank official
146K SF
Phase II Size
34 ac
Site Acreage
Unanimous
Planning Vote
Denied
Outcome
Orangeburg, New York · 2024
The reservoir they didn’t account for.
Phase I
DataBank operates existing facility in Orangeburg
DataBank runs an existing data center campus in Orangeburg, Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, NY. The facility sits on 34 acres adjacent to the banks of Lake Tappan Reservoir — a regional drinking water source serving communities in both New York and New Jersey.
2024
Phase II proposal filed — 146K SF expansion
DataBank files for a Phase II expansion: 146,000 SF of data center space, a 73,000 SF substation, and a 52,000 SF equipment yard. The proposed expansion would place large-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage systems in close proximity to the Lake Tappan drinking water supply.
Pre-Vote
100+ residents pack the planning board meeting
More than 100 residents attend the Rockland County planning board meeting to oppose the expansion. The datacentercrisis.org coalition forms, mobilizing opposition across both New York and New Jersey communities that depend on Lake Tappan for drinking water.
December 2024
County planning board votes unanimously to disapprove
The Rockland County planning board votes unanimously to disapprove DataBank's Phase II expansion. Stated grounds: disruption of wetlands, lithium-ion battery fire risk to a drinking water supply serving two states, and data centers not listed as a permitted use in the LIO (Light Industrial/Office) zone.
The Fatal Constraint
Use Not Permitted in LIO Zone
The Town of Orangetown's LIO (Light Industrial/Office) zoning district does not list data centers as a permitted use. Without a text amendment or special permit provision, the application had no legal pathway to approval from day one.
The Fire Risk
Li-Ion Batteries + Drinking Water
The proposed 73K SF substation included large-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage. A Li-ion fire adjacent to the Lake Tappan Reservoir — sole drinking water source for communities in two states — is a risk no planning board in the Northeast would approve.
The Environmental Wall
Wetlands Disruption
The 34-acre site's proximity to Lake Tappan Reservoir means any expansion triggers wetlands permitting under both state and federal law. The disruption finding from county planning is an independent basis for denial — the fire risk wasn't even needed.
The Cross-State Problem
NJ Opposition at a NY Hearing
Lake Tappan serves New Jersey communities, not just New York. The datacentercrisis.org coalition mobilized residents across state lines, creating a political opposition footprint that extended well beyond the jurisdiction making the decision.
“A use that isn’t permitted in the zone isn’t a zoning challenge. It’s a site selection failure.”
The Pre-Filing Intelligence
What RealClear AI finds at 311 Western Highway.
Before a single filing fee is paid. Before a single attorney is engaged. Before a single county planning commissioner hears the words “data center.”
Site Analysis
311 Western Highway
Orangeburg, Rockland County, NY 10962
Use Permissibility
Planning Board Vote
Environmental Risk
Community Risk
Comparable Flag
Lithium-ion battery storage adjacent to drinking water reservoirs has been denied in 4 of 4 comparable cases in the Northeast. Cross-state opposition from New Jersey residents adds a political dimension absent from in-county projects.
Fire Risk — Drinking Water Supply
Proposed 73K SF substation and Li-ion battery arrays within documented proximity to Lake Tappan Reservoir — drinking water source for communities in New York and New Jersey.
Recommendation
DO NOT PROCEED. Use not permitted in LIO zone. Unanimous disapproval already on record. Environmental and fire risk factors are not mitigable at this location.
The Pre-Flight Checklist
Four signals. All publicly available.
Every risk that sank this expansion existed in public records before the first filing. RealClear AI reads those records so your team doesn't have to.
Data Centers Not Permitted in LIO Zone
Zoning ReaderThe Town of Orangetown's LIO (Light Industrial/Office) zoning code is a categorical use question. Data centers are not listed as a permitted use. Without a code amendment, no amount of mitigation can cure a categorical use prohibition. RealClear's Zoning Reader would have surfaced this as the first finding — before any engineer was hired.
Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Risk Near Drinking Water
Zoning ReaderLarge-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage systems produce toxic runoff when they burn. The proximity of the proposed 73K SF substation to Lake Tappan Reservoir — drinking water for two states — creates a fire risk scenario that no planning board would accept. This risk is identifiable from site location data and reservoir mapping alone.
Wetlands Disruption — Regulatory Tripwire
Pathway MapperReservoir-adjacent properties trigger wetlands permitting under the Army Corps of Engineers' Section 404 program and New York State's freshwater wetlands law. Both are public databases. RealClear's analysis would have flagged the wetlands designation before the county planning board identified it as a basis for denial.
Cross-State Opposition — 100+ Residents
Community SentinelThe datacentercrisis.org coalition was visible in public discourse before the hearing. Community Sentinel monitoring of local news, planning board agendas, and public comment periods would have detected organized opposition weeks in advance — providing a final off-ramp before the hearing.
Northeast Data Center Opposition Pattern
Comparable AnalystComparable projects in the Hudson Valley and New Jersey had already faced similar opposition over water and fire risk. The Comparable Analyst surfaces these outcomes before any capital is committed, establishing the baseline denial probability for reservoir-adjacent sites with battery storage components.
The total cost of this entitlement failure:
Entitlement costs for large-scale data center expansion range $50K–$260K in direct fees, attorney time, and consultant costs — before a single permit is issued. Add land carry costs on 34 acres in a high-value suburban New York market, engineering studies, and the opportunity cost of months spent on a site that was legally unbuildable from day one.
A RealClear analysis costs less than one hour of attorney time.
Intelligence Brief
How RealClear built this verdict.
Every feasibility score is backed by a traceable intelligence trail — real articles, real officials, real patterns.
News Articles Indexed
Key Officials Profiled
Comparable Projects Approved
Opposition Groups Tracked
Event Timeline
Key milestones in the entitlement journey
Phase I
DataBank operates existing Orangeburg campus
2024
Phase II application filed — 146K SF expansion
Pre-Vote
100+ residents pack planning board meeting
Dec 2024
Rockland County planning board unanimously disapproves
Phase I
DataBank operates existing Orangeburg campus
2024
Phase II application filed — 146K SF expansion
Pre-Vote
100+ residents pack planning board meeting
Dec 2024
Rockland County planning board unanimously disapproves
Key Actors
Decision-makers and their positions
Rockland County Planning Board
County Planning Board (Unanimous)
Unanimously disapproved Phase II citing wetlands disruption, Li-ion fire risk, and use not permitted in LIO zone
datacentercrisis.org Coalition
Cross-State Opposition Group
Organized residents from both New York and New Jersey — Lake Tappan serves communities in two states
DataBank
Data Center Operator
Existing Phase I operator on site — expansion proposal triggered unanimous disapproval at county level
Town of Orangetown
Municipal Jurisdiction
LIO zoning district does not list data centers as a permitted use — categorical barrier without text amendment
Opposition Intelligence
Organized opposition groups
datacentercrisis.org Coalition
100+ residents at single planning board meeting, cross-state reach into New Jersey
Tactics
Fire risk framing, drinking water protection, cross-state petition, media advocacy
Track Record
Unanimous planning board disapproval achieved — the most complete outcome short of a formal denial
Jurisdiction Pattern
What history tells us about this jurisdiction
Approval Rate
0 of 4 data center proposals with Li-ion battery storage near drinking water reservoirs approved in Northeast (2022-2024)
Recent Shifts
Multiple Hudson Valley and NJ water authority interventions against reservoir-adjacent industrial uses have established a near-uniform denial pattern
Key Insight
Reservoir proximity is a categorical dealbreaker in the Northeast. The combination of wetlands, drinking water supply for two states, and a use not permitted in the zone left no viable path to approval from the moment the site was selected.
Intelligence compiled from 8 news articles, 3 official documents, and comparable data from 4 Northeast reservoir-adjacent industrial proposals
Primary Source Documents
13 DocumentsEvery finding cited to the source. Click any document to preview it directly.
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