Livingston Township Council adopted an ordinance Tuesday, Oct. 13, removing data centers as a permitted use in the township's research laboratory and commercial industry districts.
The ordinance also explicitly excludes data centers from permitted limited industrial use, according to the West Essex Tribune. The change bars large-scale data processing facilities from Livingston's industrial-zoned areas.
The vote makes Livingston one of a growing number of New Jersey municipalities using local zoning authority to block data centers. At least two dozen towns across the state have prohibited the facilities since February, NJ Spotlight News reported in July. Pemberton Township in Burlington County was the first to act, banning data centers in mid-February.
Nearby Chatham Borough introduced its own ban Sept. 28. Chatham's Planning Board voted 8-2 on Oct. 7 to support the proposed ordinance, which would prohibit commercial data centers throughout the borough, the Chatham Courier reported. That measure still needs borough council approval.
In Millburn, the data center question remains unresolved. Mayor Frank Saccomandi said at a Sept. 27 Township Committee meeting that data centers are not currently a permitted use in Millburn and that no applications were pending. He reported that the Planning Board had found a previously introduced ordinance inconsistent with the Master Plan, according to meeting minutes. A Planning Board subcommittee identified issues for revision. Saccomandi said he expected a revised ordinance within weeks.
The local actions come as Gov. Mikie Sherrill has opposed a statewide moratorium on data centers, favoring local control instead.
"If they want a moratorium, there are certain towns where it's probably not appropriate to build data centers," Sherrill said in a September interview with Politico. "There are other towns where it probably makes sense."
New Jersey lawmakers have introduced more than a dozen data center bills this session, including one proposing a six-month moratorium on facilities over 10 megawatts, Politico reported.
Sherrill's statewide plan, announced in May and expanded in August, addresses energy demand, water use, utility infrastructure and community impacts. Her August announcement, which Sherrill described as putting power in the hands of communities, includes technical assistance from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the Board of Public Utilities and the Department of Environmental Protection.
Millburn's revised ordinance could come before the Township Committee in the coming weeks, based on Saccomandi's Sept. 27 timeline.
