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Delanco committee discusses ordinance to prohibit data centers in all zones; professionals urged caution on revisions
Summary
The committee reviewed a draft ordinance that would list data centers as non‑permitted in all zones. Some members criticized the document as a boilerplate template and urged more deliberation; officials said professionals recommended the current draft and set a July 13 public hearing.
Township committee members discussed a proposed ordinance (2026‑10) to designate data centers as a non‑permitted use in all zoning districts at their June 29 meeting.
Several committee members said the draft appeared to be a template drawn from other municipalities and that it was circulated and placed on the agenda without prior in‑depth committee discussion. One member said the version proposed edits that conflicted with local planning and recommended further local tailoring before adoption.
Legal and planning professionals who reviewed the draft advised the committee to move forward with the version already prepared and to use the public hearing process to gather feedback. The joint land use board has been asked to complete a master‑plan consistency review and will meet on July 7; committee members said they would receive the joint land use board’s recommendations and could refine the ordinance thereafter.
The committee did not vote to adopt the ordinance on June 29; members agreed to have the public hearing at the July 13 meeting and to consider professional advice before making substantive changes. Several members said they supported the ordinance in principle — to prevent large, high‑infrastructure data centers from locating in Delanco — but asked for more targeted language and local review to avoid unintended consequences for utilities and development patterns.
No formal amendments were adopted at the June 29 discussion; staff and professionals will provide additional technical review and the joint land use board will report back before any final action.
