At our township committee meeting on May 11, we adopted a ban on data centers. The committee vote was unanimous.
Let me be perfectly clear, the committee and I stand firmly in opposition to the introduction of data centers within our jurisdiction. A data center is not a constitutionally protected use, and therefore can be prohibited by way of a zoning ordinance.
We have taken an extremely proactive approach and are getting out in front of the data center debate occurring in other communities. This ordinance will in fact prohibit the centers as a zoning use – as laid out in Section 230-44 of the land development section of our township codes – and will prohibit them in all zoning districts throughout the township.
Mantua is a community built for families – not for massive, industrial-scale data centers. These facilities would bring heavy energy demand, a strain on our infrastructure, excessive water consumption, constant noise and very little long-term benefit to our residents. They do not reflect our priorities, our character or our vision for responsible growth.
We support innovation, but not at the expense of our quality of life, our environment or our taxpayers.
Mantua deserves some smart development that strengthens our community, protects our resources and truly serves our people. For these reasons and many others, we again stand firmly opposed to the introduction of data centers in our township.
Also at our May 11 meeting, we recognized May 2026 as Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month and honored Heather Furfari, a 19-year Mantua resident and two-time melanoma survivor. Special guest Mary Beth Konecki, also a melanoma survivor and founder of The Sunscreen Project, addressed melanoma awareness and handed out sunscreen to Police Chief Bill Murphy and his department.
