Medford bans data centers within town limits amid public debate about AI

Large-scale data centers will not be moving into Medford any time soon thanks to a new ordinance adopted unanimously by the Medford Township council this week.

While the township has not yet received any formal applications for data centers, officials are taking steps like the ordinance passed Tuesday that specifically prohibits the land use within town limits as a chance to be proactive.

“These are extra precautions to ensure that we don’t move forward in a direction that we can’t come back from until we know full well what the impacts of data centers will be,” Medford Mayor Michael Czyzyk said at Tuesday’s public hearing.

The ordinance received support from Medford-area residents at the hearing but some questioned whether the township might be making its bed too early considering how quickly technology evolves, especially if there’s a chance to reap the rewards of a data center project without negatively impacting the surrounding community.

“If there’s no impacts to the residents and there’s only a financial benefit, I believe I would consider looking at that at that time but we’re not there yet,” Czyzyk said.

While the ordinance constraints may seem all-limiting as it exists today, Czyzyk said, council maintains the authority to at any point amend the ordinance to permit data centers in the township’s redevelopment district.

“I definitely understand that things will evolve and there may be a time in the future that the term ‘data center’ is something that is more amenable to the residents and the body that governs them,” Czyzyk said.

“I will feel comfortable with the vote I cast on this ordinance tonight knowing full well that today I feel that way and that there’s mechanisms in the future if things do change, a process will be undertaken to remedy that,” he said.

Nearby in Cherry Hill, Mayor David Fleisher has explicitly vowed to block the construction of any large AI or commercial data facilities in the township citing concerns of high energy usage, water consumption, and proximity to residents.

There are dozens of data centers currently operating throughout the state with major hubs located primarily in North Jersey urban centers like Secaucus and Newark. But more recently, developers have been eyeing spots in rural South Jersey as the industry expands to meet growing demands for generative AI.

For months, South Jersey residents have been protesting a major AI data center that is currently under construction in Vineland.

Developers and other data-center proponents say the facilities bring in tax revenue, create jobs, make use of old industrial sites, and put towns on the cutting edge of a hot industry, all without straining school districts or emergency services.

Opponents, meanwhile, cite concerns about pollution, noise, power and water use, and the impact on their electric bills. Some also say they worry the AI boom is a bubble that could soon burst.

As concerns continue to grow among towns across the Garden State, representatives from more than 60 environmental, labor and community groups sent a letter to New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill last month calling for a statewide moratorium on the approval and construction of new facilities that use 20 megawatts or more of power.

So far in response to the public pressure, Sherrill has proposed a plan that would require new data centers to cover grid upgrades, utilize their own power generators and publicly report resource usage.

While some municipalities like Medford have issued moratoriums on new data centers, no state governments have successfully done so, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.