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Staff tells Pinelands Commission CMP generally limits where data centers can be sited; municipalities control zoning and water allocations
Summary
Commission staff said the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) and water-management rules narrow where data centers could be permitted, that municipalities must adopt ordinances to allow them, and that any withdrawal above 50,000 gallons per day triggers additional review; commissioners and public commenters urged clearer definitions and decommissioning plans.
Brad, a Commission staff member leading the briefing, told the Pinelands Commission that the CMP and recent amendments limit where large industrial uses such as data centers can be sited and that "there's nothing in the CMP that requires the municipality to zone for industrial uses or anything like a data center." He said the CMP's management-area structure makes regional growth areas, Pinelands towns and certain villages the most likely places where a municipality could permit a data center by ordinance.
Brad outlined minimum environmental standards that any local ordinance or application must meet — wetlands protection, habitat protections,…
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