Hackettstown's Town Council voted 4-0 on Oct. 8 to ban data centers across every zoning district in town, adopting Ordinance 2026-11 without a single comment from the public and without debate among council members before the vote. The measure, which took effect Oct. 9, amends and supplements the town code to classify data centers as a non-permitted use anywhere within Hackettstown's borders.
Councilmen Engelau, Kunz, Lambo and Tynan voted in favor, while councilmen Becker and Sheldon were absent, according to TAPinto Hackettstown, whose reporter Melissa Maney covered the vote. The ordinance does not just target data centers themselves — it also sweeps in associated infrastructure like electrical substations, transformers, generators and cooling systems, according to WRNJ Radio. There is one carve-out: facilities used primarily for the internal operations of licensed health-care facilities or providers are exempt, so long as they are not commercially serving outside entities, per the same report.
No Proposal, No Pressure — Just a Preemptive Move
According to TAPinto Hackettstown, Clerk Reilly confirmed the ordinance was entirely preemptive and was not prompted by any specific proposal or developer inquiry. The town does not currently face data center development pressure, per local officials. Hackettstown does not allow data centers to be built as-of-right anywhere within town borders now; any developer interested in building one in the future would have to seek a use variance and undergo scrutiny before the Land Use Board.
The ordinance was first introduced at the council's Sept. 10 meeting before receiving final approval on Oct. 8, the station's report notes. It was published on the municipal website, and per the same account, takes effect following passage and publication as required by law.
Why Towns Are Worried About Water and Power
Town officials cited concerns over electricity consumption, water usage, noise and environmental impacts in justifying the ban, per WRNJ Radio. Officials pointed to figures showing that large-scale data centers can consume as much as 3 million to 5 million gallons of water daily, and that some facilities require as much as 300 megawatts of electricity — enough to strain local utility systems built for a town of Hackettstown's size, which spans commercial corridors along Main Street and Mountain Avenue alongside residential neighborhoods and industrial areas.
Hackettstown is far from alone in taking this step. Nearly three dozen New Jersey municipalities have passed bans or restrictions on data centers, according to New Jersey Monitor, while a separate count from NJ Spotlight News put the figure at least two dozen municipalities prohibiting the facilities within their borders since February. New Jersey currently has roughly two dozen data centers statewide, with several more under construction, per NJ Spotlight News.
A Statewide Pattern, From Pemberton to the Jersey Shore
Pemberton Township in Burlington County was the first town in the state to ban data centers, doing so in mid-February, according to NJ Spotlight News. Neptune Township followed on July 13 with an ordinance banning both data centers and immigrant detention facilities, while Plainfield and Sayreville were reported to be considering similar prohibitions. Andover Township went a step further, unanimously introducing a townshipwide ban and repealing earlier ordinances that had allowed data centers, per New Jersey Monitor's reporting.
That same report notes that developers are increasingly turning to the courts to challenge these municipal bans. The pattern isn't confined to New Jersey, either: East Lyme, Connecticut's zoning commission voted unanimously to prohibit both traditional and AI data centers along with related accessories, even though officials there said the town had no current or past data-center plans and acted only in anticipation of proposals popping up elsewhere, according to WFSB.
State Lawmakers Are Also Moving on the Issue
New Jersey has been tightening oversight of data centers at the state level too. Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed legislation on Aug. 27 requiring data-center owners and operators to submit semiannual reports to the state Board of Public Utilities detailing their energy and water use, according to Morristown Minute. Separately, New Jersey law P.L. 2026, c. 32, signed July 7, directs the BPU to establish a separate ratepayer class and standards specifically for large data-center customers, per the same outlet.
On the labor side, state guidance from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs specifies that prevailing-wage requirements apply to data-center construction projects commencing on or after March 1, 2026, when a facility is designed for annual usage of at least five megawatts after construction. For now, any future data-center hopeful in Hackettstown will have to clear the town's Land Use Board first. Residents can track future zoning matters at Hackettstown Mayor and Council meetings, held twice a month starting at 7 p.m. at the Municipal Building.
