Wallington NJ Scraps Data Center Plan for Dairy Site
Wallington officials are scrapping proposed redevelopment language that could have allowed a data center at the former Farmland Dairies site after residents raised concerns about traffic, noise, stormwater and utility strain. The borough plans to remove data centers from the redevelopment plan and introduce a revised ordinance for further review.
Wallington, New Jersey, is abandoning proposed redevelopment language that would have established rules for a potential data center on 33 acres at the former Farmland Dairies plant on Main Avenue. The proposal drew sustained opposition from residents, who questioned its potential effects on traffic, noise, stormwater, utilities and the borough’s infrastructure. Mayor Melissa Dabal said the amendment was intended to facilitate warehouses rather than approve data-center construction, while resident Szymon Sikorski challenged the proposal and documented the proceedings.
The planning board postponed its review, a scheduled public hearing did not occur, and the related ordinance was ultimately removed from the council agenda. Borough officials now say they will eliminate data centers from the redevelopment plan and submit a revised ordinance through the planning board, public hearings and a governing-body vote. The reversal comes amid broader New Jersey resistance to data centers, including local bans, a state utility-cost law for large facilities, a $1.07 million environmental penalty against DataOne, and a lawsuit by Hexa Builders over Monroe Township’s data-center ban.