Sayreville council moves to remove data-center use from Sunshine Biscuits redevelopment plan after resident objections
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Summary
After residents and an environmental advocate raised concerns about water, energy and pollution impacts, Sayreville council agreed to amend the redevelopment plan for the Sunshine Biscuits parcel to remove data centers as a permitted use and reintroduce the ordinance for further consideration.
Sayreville27s mayor and borough council on a regular April 2026 agenda voted to remove data centers as a permitted use in the redevelopment plan for the Sunshine Biscuits property and to reintroduce the ordinance at a future meeting for formal adoption.
The move followed several public commenters who said a data center would strain local water and electric systems and produce pollution and noise. Cassandra Dougherty of MacArthur Avenue urged the council to delete data-center language from the Special Economic Development Zone, saying the land parcel would "allow for a mid sized facility or campus" that could "consume more than 100,000,000 gallons of water per year" and would shift costs to residents. Shamar White, a policy fellow with the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, told the council, "There is no economic benefit to data centers. It is a fallacy."
Veena Sawant, the borough27s planner, told the governing body the application before them is for warehousing and not a data center, and said the developer is amenable to removing the data-center use. "The developer is not proposing a data center," Sawant said, noting existing planning-board approvals and that the plan27s bulk standards and a 55-foot height cap are not consistent with typical data-center construction.
Borough attorney Joe Sardillo advised the council that removing a permitted use would be a material change requiring reintroduction of the ordinance. The council took a straw vote in favor of removing the data-center use and a motion was made and seconded to amend the redevelopment plan and reintroduce the ordinance at a subsequent meeting; a roll call was taken and the council proceeded with the reintroduction process. The ordinance had been introduced as Ordinance 3-26 and covers specified tax-map blocks identified at the hearing under NJSA 48:12a-7.
The issue surfaced during the public hearing portion on the Sunshine Biscuits redevelopment parcel at Journey Mill Road and Bordentown Avenue. Commenters raised specific local concerns including potential municipal water use and necessary electrical upgrades; one commenter noted prior permission discussions related to up to 10,000,000 gallons per day from the South River. Planner Sawant and borough staff emphasized the developer27s stated intent is warehousing and that the current application represents less square footage than an earlier planning-board approval.
Next steps: the council will reintroduce an amended ordinance (removing data-center as a permitted use), advertise it according to law and hold a public hearing on the reintroduced ordinance at a later meeting. The borough attorney also noted pending state-level action: a bill introduced on 01/13/2026 that would remove the emergency-only limitation on electronic participation in public meetings, but that is separate from the redevelopment action taken by the council.
Authorities and related documents referenced at the hearing included the redevelopment ordinance text (Ordinance 3-26) and the statutory citation noted in the hearing (NJSA 48:12a-7).
