Millburn is moving to ban large-scale data centers outright, joining a growing list of New Jersey towns racing to keep the massive, power-hungry facilities out before one ever asks to move in.
The Township Committee introduced the draft ordinance June 18, and Deputy Mayor David Cosgrove said it's a direct response to residents. "People have asked us to protect the town from large-scale [data centers]," he said at the meeting.
Rather than simply leaving data centers off the list of permitted uses, the ordinance goes further and declares them unlawful outright — closing a loophole a developer could otherwise use to argue an unlisted use isn't necessarily a banned one. No specific developer or data center proposal has been publicly tied to the move; this is Millburn getting ahead of the issue before it becomes one.
At least a dozen New Jersey towns have banned or moved to ban data centers in 2026 alone, including Monroe Township, Millville, Red Bank, Warren Township and Sayreville. More than 60 data centers already operate statewide. The concerns driving the wave are consistent: massive electricity and water demand, noise, and the risk that residential ratepayers end up subsidizing the difference through higher utility bills.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill's administration rolled out a four-part plan in May requiring data center developers to help pay for grid upgrades and publicly report their electricity and water use twice a year. State lawmakers went further on July 1, passing a bill requiring the Board of Public Utilities to set special tariff standards for data centers using 50 megawatts or more — specifically to keep other ratepayers from footing the bill. That bill is awaiting Sherrill's signature.
The ordinance still needs a public hearing before it can pass. The Township Committee's next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, July 14, at 7 p.m. at the Millburn Education Center, though it hasn't been confirmed whether the hearing will happen then. Residents who want to weigh in can attend once it's officially scheduled.
