Fleisher: ‘As long as I’m mayor’ there will be no data centers in Cherry Hill

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As a growing number of municipalities are seeking to ban data centers amid rising concern, and before New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced plans for a framework around them, Cherry Hill Mayor David Fleischer had made it clear they will not be welcome in the township.

“I’ll go as far as to say that there won’t be a data center built in Cherry Hill as long as I’m mayor,” Fleischer said during Tuesday night’s township council meeting.

Data centers have become synonymous with intensive power and water consumption. Opposition to them has grown, particularly as they are built alongside residential areas. A recent Gallup survey found that seven in 10 Americans opposed building data centers for AI purposes.

Currently, no data centers are being proposed in Cherry Hill.

As Cherry Hill council members were holding their meeting, the East Greenwich Township Committee approved a ban on data centers. An application from American Tower to build a 17,000 square-foot data center is pending before the township’s combined planning and zoning board.

Residents concerned about the proposed project said it would be built next to a residential community and that the facility would be visible from several backyards.

In response, East Greenwich scheduled a special meeting at Samuel Mickle School on Kings Highway for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30.

Many N.J. towns banning data centers

Millville city commissioners unanimously banned data centers at their May 19 meeting, effectively blocking a proposed 2.6 million-square-foot facility, the largest data center project in the state to date.

In Monroe Township, officials banned all data centers defined as facilities tied to artificial intelligence, cloud computing and cryptocurrency operations. It also banned land use operations that are considered similar to data centers.

A proposed 1.6 million-square-foot facility with two warehouses was being considered in Monroe, before residents came out to strongly oppose its construction. In Vineland, residents have filed a lawsuit in regard to a new data center over concerns about its loud noises.

Several other municipalities throughout the state have enacted similar bans. Notably, Andover Township and Logan Township have proposed or implemented data center bans, too.

Gov. Sherrill’s 4-point plan

Sherrill announced Wednesday she is crafting legislation that would require data centers to pay for the electricity they use and report how much power and water they use as part of a four-point plan surrounding data centers.

A bill before the state Senate would force public electric utilities to charge data centers more to cover any grid infrastructure upgrades needed to support their operation.

Fleischer recognized that there needs to be a formal proposal behind his words, which is why work towards a ban on the hubs is underway.

“Council and I are committed to making sure, with the help of attorneys, that we’re taking the right steps to make that a reality,” the mayor said.

Jeffrey McKenzie, a township resident, called on the council to get in front and ban the construction of data centers, citing the proposed East Greenwich project in addition to concerns about energy and water consumption.

“[The project] has been the topic of countless news stories regarding the noise emitted and the massive scale of the project just up the road from people’s housing,” McKenzie said. “We have the opportunity here to be proactive and prevent something like this from happening in our community as well.”