Local resident lays out six technical standards for data‑center approvals

At the council meeting, Nicholas Chludzinski (Olyphant) delivered a detailed technical proposal asking the borough to condition any CM‑2 approval for data‑center uses on six measurable requirements. He framed the standards as legally defensible performance measures rather than exclusionary zoning.

Chludzinski called for a minimum 500‑foot undisturbed buffer wherever CM‑2 abuts the S‑Conservation district and a separate 500‑foot buffer west of Marshwood Road to protect the pitch‑pine–scrub‑oak barrens and preserve dark‑sky conditions. He asked that air‑quality and noise limits be measured at the applicant’s property line rather than the CM‑2 boundary.

Specific numeric thresholds he proposed included denying approval if combined concentrations at the applicant’s property line exceed 5 µg/m³ of NOₓ, 10 µg/m³ of PM₂.₅ or show any measurable increase in hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). He also recommended requiring closed‑loop or air‑cooled systems (no municipal or groundwater cooling), independent third‑party hydro‑geologic studies denying approval for even a 1% modeled drawdown risk, an LA90 night cap of 40 dBA at the property line, and constrained, silenced generator testing windows.