The developer behind five proposed data centers in Upper Merion Township has taken the fight to court.

Brian O’Neill and MLP Ventures filed five lawsuits Wednesday in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas challenging the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors’ Aug. 13 denial of the projects. The proposals total approximately 4.6 million square feet across five sites in the King of Prussia area.

O’Neill is asking the court to reverse the Board’s decisions and grant preliminary approval to the plans. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, he is also seeking the appointment of an independent third-party referee to hold an evidentiary hearing and oversee the remainder of the land-development process.

The lawsuits involve the same five proposals rejected by supervisors last month:

The five applications had also appeared before the Upper Merion Planning Commission earlier this year.

In the lawsuits, O’Neill argues that the plans complied with the township’s applicable land-development requirements and alleges that the Board’s decision was influenced by strong public opposition to the projects.

O’Neill also alleges township officials had previously indicated that data centers could be permitted under the zoning code as a warehouse use.

Those are allegations being made by the developer as part of the legal challenges.

Township supervisors offered a different explanation when they rejected the plans Aug. 13. The Board cited concerns that included insufficient detail regarding the projects, unresolved zoning issues and unanswered questions about matters such as energy generation, utilities and fire safety.

Hundreds of residents attended the Aug. 13 meeting, and the five denials were approved unanimously.

The lawsuits do more than seek another opportunity for township review.

According to the Inquirer, O’Neill is asking the court to overturn the denials, grant the applications preliminary approval and appoint an independent referee to conduct an evidentiary hearing and oversee the process going forward.

That means the question of whether the five projects can move forward has now shifted, at least in part, from the township meeting room to Montgomery County Court.

Upper Merion has since adopted zoning regulations specifically addressing data centers, including limits related to building size and height, setbacks from residential properties, landscaping, visual screening and noise mitigation. The township’s current zoning code includes a 1,000-foot separation requirement from residential uses or residentially zoned property in certain districts.

The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that those newer regulations do not apply to O’Neill’s five applications because the plans were filed before the ordinance took effect.

Upper Merion Township Manager Anthony Hamaday told the Inquirer that township officials had been informed of the appeals but had not yet received the documents when contacted Thursday. The township declined further comment pending review of the filings.

The lawsuits reopen a development fight that appeared to reach a major turning point when supervisors rejected the five applications last month.

At the conclusion of that Aug. 13 meeting, Board Chair Tina Garzillo reminded O’Neill that he could appeal the decisions.

He indicated that he intended to do so.

Five weeks later, those appeals are now before the court.

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