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Residents urge Cherry Hill to ban data centers; model ordinance submitted
Summary
A resident urged the council to consider an ordinance prohibiting data centers in Cherry Hill, submitting a Pinelands Alliance model ordinance that cites high water and electricity use; the mayor said the Township is researching options but no ordinance was introduced.
Jeffrey McKenzie of Cherry Hill urged the Township Council on May 26 to consider an ordinance that would prohibit large-scale data centers in Cherry Hill, citing community concerns about increased electricity and water demand, noise and proximity to residential neighborhoods.
McKenzie submitted a model ordinance prepared by the Pinelands Alliance for the Council’s consideration and highlighted instances in other municipalities where data center proposals have generated public opposition. "We should be proactive by considering an ordinance to prohibit the construction of data centers in Cherry Hill," he said and provided the model text to Township staff.
The model ordinance text that appears in the meeting record characterizes data centers as a high-impact land use and cites preliminary figures — including claims that some facilities can use "as much as 3 to 5 million gallons of water in a single day" and require up to "300 MW of electricity" — presented as background in the draft language. The ordinance text in the record frames data centers as non-permitted uses and instructs a municipal review consistent with state notice requirements; the draft is a template and identifies required procedural steps for adoption, including Planning Board review and public hearings.
Mayor Fleisher told the meeting that the Township is "proactively researching ways to prevent such development in Cherry Hill" and expressed his commitment to keeping data centers out of the community. No Council motion to adopt or introduce a local ordinance was taken at the May 26 meeting; the submission was recorded as part of public comment and the model ordinance text was included in the meeting materials.
