ARCHBALD, PA — Tensions surrounding the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus flared anew as legal maneuvers threatened to stall the decision-making process in Archbald Borough.
At the onset of the eighth hearing regarding the project, Lucas Liben, an attorney representing developer Cornell Realty Management LLC, filed a motion seeking the formal recusal of six of the seven members of the Archbald Borough Council. The motion alleges potential biases that the developer claims could compromise the council’s ability to render an impartial judgment on the conditional use application.
"All applicants are entitled to due process," Liben stated during the proceedings. "What due process requires is not just the absence of bias or impartiality, but the absence of appearance of either bias or impartiality."
The recusal motion presents a significant procedural hurdle for the municipality. Under local government guidelines, Archbald Council requires a quorum—a simple majority of its seven members—present in order to conduct official votes. If six members were to recuse themselves, the council would fall three members short of the threshold needed to take formal action on the proposal.
The motion adds another layer of uncertainty to a prolonged review process. Before any official vote can occur, the council must complete the hearing process and host a mandatory public comment period. Once those steps are finalized, the council will enter a statutory 45-day decision window to rule on the developer's request.
