Jersey City Bans Development of New Standalone Data Centers
Jersey City's Planning Board unanimously approved zoning amendments that will prohibit the development of new standalone data centers within its borders. The changes remove data centers as an allowable use in the city's industrial districts, while existing facilities will be grandfathered in. This move comes amid broader concerns in New Jersey about data center impacts on electricity, water, and noise.
The Jersey City Planning Board has unanimously approved significant zoning amendments that will effectively ban new standalone data centers from being developed within the city. During its June 30 meeting, the board voted to remove "cyber hotel" and "data center" as allowable uses within the city's industrial districts, primarily located along the Hackensack River and in the Greenville neighborhood. The changes also revise the definition of "warehouse" to specifically exclude data centers.
This decision, initiated by the administration of Councilman James Solomon, allows existing data centers to remain under a grandfather clause. Currently, Jersey City hosts a limited number of data centers, all integrated within office buildings in mixed-use towers downtown. The city's action mirrors a growing trend across New Jersey, where numerous towns are implementing similar bans due to concerns over electricity consumption, water supply demands for cooling, noise pollution, and other quality of life issues associated with data center development. New Jersey already has over 80 data centers in operation.