Council voted unanimously on July 13 to approve on first reading an ordinance that would ban large-scale AI data centers in the township.
“This proactive approach and amendment to the ordinance will prohibit the development of data centers across town,” Mayor David Fleisher said. “These amendments are designed to protect our neighborhoods and preserve the quality of life our residents deserve and expect.”
Fleisher stated at council’s May 26 meeting that there would be no AI data centers in Cherry Hill as long as he’s mayor and that he would seek an ordinance to reflect that.
The measure cites a report conducted by the township’s planning consultant, Artheon, that outlined the impact of the centers. It refers to hyperscale facilities, defined by buildings of more than 100,000 square feet primarily used for AI; cloud storage; and subscription-based software.
The report also addresses the potential energy impact of the centers, which can each use about 100 megawatts of power – the equivalent of 100,000 households – and the strain that would place on the local power grid. As of last year, the township had a population of 79,965.
There are 13 data centers operating in the state, with another seven planned. Power usage at the current facilities ranges from three megawatts at the Piscataway Data Center in Middlesex to 119 megawatts for the QTS East Windsor Data Center in Mercer.
The report also states that while it’s possible to address the energy needs of data centers with renewable power, doing so would use many times the land needed. In practice, more than 56% of data center power comes from fossil fuels, the report revealed.
It also cites a piece by the nationwide Lincoln Institute of Land Policy that reports one of the reasons for utility cost increases around the U.S. is the power necessary for data centers.
Water use is also discussed in the report. It shows that water needed for hyperscale centers is about 10 times that necessary for a medium-size center, about 700 million gallons more than the usage of 10,000 households.
Data centers also emit noise and vibrations from their cooling systems and generators, and while the report mentions medical issues at a data center in Granbury, Texas, it also notes that those reports are unconfirmed.
The township related that its ordinance is consistent with the “purposes of zoning to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community, and to conserve natural resources and the environment.” It will include adding the definition of a data center as a building or group of buildings primarily used for AI, cloud computing, machine learning, crypto-currency mining, colocation services or large-scale digital data storage and data processing.
The measure’s definition of a data center would exclude accessory server rooms, which it defines as rooms within other buildings used for computer servers or networking equipment.
The ordinance would also add data centers to the township’s list of prohibited uses, which now include airfields, junkyards, incinerators and mobile-home dwelling units.
The measure was referred to the township planning board for a consistency review to make sure it aligns with Cherry Hill’s master plan. Councilwomen Jennifer Apell thanked the township for quick turnaround on the ordinance and for addressing the data center issue.
“I’m very pleased that we’re getting ahead of this in Cherry Hill,” she remarked at the council meeting, “and I look forward to the public hearing in a couple weeks.”
A final vote on the data center ordinance will take place at council’s meeting on Monday.
An AI data center under construction in Vineland. The facilities would be banned in the township if a recent ordinance passes.
