Monroe Township Council has unanimously adopted an ordinance that will ban data centers in Williamstown after pushback from residents.
The April 22 decision came after residents voiced opposition to a possible center within the Hexa Redevelopment Plan, a development on the Black Horse Pike that comprises 1.6. million square feet and was first introduced last June. Other towns – including Mantua and Mullica Hill – are taking action on their own bans.
Residents attended several council and planning board meetings beginning in January to express concerns about the potential effects of a center, including loud noise, negative environmental impact and strain on the electrical grid and water lines. As a result, the council adopted an ordinance – also on April 22 – that specifically bans an AI facility in the Hexa plan.
“Since the Jan. 8 planning board meeting, where this all kind of surfaced, when those initial residents came out to speak against any kind of data centers,” noted Mayor Greg Wolfe, “our administration here, the council, our professionals, our planning board – they worked very diligently to get to where we are tonight.
“I know it took some time,” he added. “I hope everybody understands that it is a process, government. It’s a little over three months since that date, but we are here. We had to ensure that this was being done properly, as we said the entire time, and lawfully.
“The good news is, again, we’re here and we have a ban on all data centers in Monroe Township.”
Wolfe credited residents for making their opinions known across several meetings – some of which lasted more than a few hours – and reaching out to council.
“Even though there were times when meetings were a little tense, got a little heated,” he acknowleged, “they were productive and they worked. We worked through this. It goes to show you that government does work. It doesn’t work as fast as maybe some of us like to, but it works.”
Wolfe also read a letter at the council meeting written by resident Fatima DaCosta that voiced her support for the two data center bans.
“I am grateful that the council has responded with the seriousness this issue deserves,” the letter read. “These two ordinances go beyond what many of us hope for, and I believe they reflect a responsible community-centered government at its best.”
The bans came after months of hearings with concerned residents and were adopted on April 22.
