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Vineland residents press council over data center claims and Lincoln Avenue traffic safety
Summary
Residents told the council they fear a proposed data center’s water and noise impacts and urged action on traffic-safety problems along Lincoln Avenue tied to an upcoming development; speakers asked for clearer studies, enforcement and more municipal oversight.
Nicole Gardner, a Vineland resident, told the City Council that a proposed development on Lincoln Avenue is being reviewed "in a vacuum" without sufficient traffic analysis and cited past local studies showing intersections operating at or beyond capacity and a history of rear-end and angle collisions. She urged council members to press planning staff and the mayor to secure traffic reports and not "wait for another study" before acting.
Gardner also criticized recent comments by a DataONE representative about water and power usage for a planned data center in Vineland. "He said, we'll use no water," she said, then described the representative as later citing multiple pools of water and large power claims. "I have no idea how anyone believes a single word coming out of his mouth," Gardner said, adding that she took offense at suggestions protesters were "paid actors." Bert Brewster, another resident, told the council he had read DataONE’s environmental statement and asked for clearer detail on projected water usage and the evaluation of alternatives, noting regional drought conditions and prior summer water interruptions in parts of Vineland.
At the meeting several residents raised related questions about guarantees advertised by data center representatives. "Do we have a guarantee?" one resident asked about a previously mentioned 1-gigawatt expansion; the council did not provide a legally binding commitment at the meeting. A separate audience member urged the city to ensure any factual claims in promotional materials are verified and to require more specific engineering analyses before approvals.
Why it matters: Residents and local stakeholders said the project could affect water supply, road safety and neighborhood quality of life; they asked the council to seek more rigorous traffic and environmental analyses and to clarify what the city will require before permitting such projects.
The council did not take an immediate action specific to the data center during the meeting; several first-reading ordinances and hearings were scheduled for May 26, 2026, and the planning board is set to hear the Lincoln Avenue proposal on the following day.
