Millburn's Township Committee will consider an ordinance Tuesday that would ban data centers in every zoning district, after the township's first attempt at regulation stalled earlier this year.
The revised ordinance, scheduled for the Oct. 20 meeting, would explicitly prohibit data center facilities township-wide and block applicants from splitting large operations into smaller pieces to avoid the rules, according to TAPinto Millburn/Short Hills, as summarized by Patch. Mayor Frank Saccomandi IV and a subcommittee tightened the language after the Planning Board found the original ordinance inconsistent with the Master Plan.
The original measure, Ordinance 2770-26, was tabled at the Township Committee's June 18 meeting after Saccomandi said he wanted more information about how it would affect existing businesses. Township planner Petto told the committee at that meeting that while data centers were not a permitted use in Millburn, an explicit prohibition would establish a stronger policy basis and raise the bar for anyone seeking a variance through the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
The ordinance went through months of revision after the Planning Board flagged the inconsistency. At the June meeting, committee member Cohen said explicitly prohibiting data centers would create a clearer ordinance while still allowing normal business server rooms. Saccomandi, however, said at the June 18 meeting that any ordinance should reflect community input and clear local needs, not trends in other municipalities.
The Environmental Commission weighed in with its own recommendation. At a special meeting on Sept. 27, the commission voted 6-1 to approve a position paper calling for a 12-month moratorium on new data center development and a structured study before any permanent policy takes effect. Chair Jude Huang and member Matthew Greller prepared the paper, which proposed a nine-member Data Center Advisory Board that would meet monthly, hold at least two public hearings and issue a report with recommendations.
Saccomandi told the Environmental Commission at that Sept. 27 meeting that no data center applications were pending in Millburn. He reported the Planning Board had already identified issues with the original ordinance and that a revised version was expected within weeks, potentially prohibiting data centers with specified exceptions. He said he had reviewed roughly a dozen municipalities with similar approaches.
The lone dissenting vote on the position paper came from Alexander McConnell, who said he wanted to see the revised ordinance first.
Millburn is not acting in isolation.
As we reported Oct. 15, neighboring Livingston adopted an ordinance Oct. 13 removing data centers as permitted uses in its research laboratory and commercial industry districts. Chatham Borough introduced a similar borough-wide ban on Sept. 28, according to the Chatham Courier.
Tuesday's Township Committee meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Millburn Education Center, 434 Millburn Ave. Residents can also join online through the township calendar.
