Maplewood Township officials gave final approval Tuesday to an ordinance banning both data centers and detention centers from every zoning district in town, a move driven in part by resident alarm over a massive AI computing project under construction in Kenilworth. The Township Committee introduced Ordinance No. 4017-26 on October 6 and passed it on October 20, amending zoning code chapter 271 to explicitly designate data centers and detention centers as non-permitted uses.
A Zoning Fix Aimed at Closing Loopholes
As reported by The Village Green, the ordinance followed a deck line noting that a Union County resident had asked the Township Committee to work with neighboring towns to stop a series of data centers planned in Kenilworth. That resident specifically asked Maplewood's committee to band together with other municipalities to oppose the Kenilworth projects, according to the outlet's reporting. Maplewood's existing land-use code already barred uses not explicitly permitted, but officials amended the code anyway to prevent legal ambiguity amid growing regional development pressure, according to Citizen Portal.
The Kenilworth Project Fueling Regional Anxiety
The development drawing concern from Union County residents is CoreWeave's $1.8 billion AI data center at the 107-acre former Merck & Co. campus in Kenilworth, a 247,000-square-foot project projected to draw up to 250 megawatts of electricity — enough to supply roughly 200,000 residential homes, per a report from Obedio. The Kenilworth Planning Board unanimously approved CoreWeave's site plan in May 2025 without a single public comment, but opposition erupted in spring 2026 after residents learned through social media about the facility, the same report notes. Surrounding municipalities share the environmental and utility impacts of the project but had no formal vote during Kenilworth's municipal planning review, which is part of why residents have been pushing neighboring towns like Maplewood to unite against it.
Hoodline previously reported that Bergen County's Wallington backed off its own data center plan after a resident revolt, part of the same statewide pattern now reaching Maplewood.
Part of a Statewide Wave of Local Bans
Maplewood joins more than 110 New Jersey municipalities that have introduced or enacted zoning ordinances prohibiting AI data centers, a wave of local action that began when Pemberton Township passed the state's first municipal prohibition in February 2026, according to Food & Water Watch. A poll from the Rutgers University Eagleton Institute of Politics found that 72% of New Jersey residents oppose having a data center built in their own city or town, while 64% oppose one in a neighboring county, the same release states. Public anxiety centers largely on projected increases in electricity bills, noise from cooling systems, and heavy water consumption.
State lawmakers have also moved to rein in the industry's footprint. Governor Mikie Sherrill signed legislation in late August requiring data center owners to submit semiannual reports to the Board of Public Utilities detailing total electricity usage, peak daily water consumption, water sources, and backup power infrastructure, according to the Morristown Minute. Separate legislation signed in July directed the Board of Public Utilities to create a distinct ratepayer class for data centers drawing more than 50 megawatts, so commercial operators cover their own grid infrastructure costs rather than shifting expenses onto residential customers.
Grid Strain and Enforcement Troubles Elsewhere
The push for local bans comes as regional grid operator PJM Interconnection has projected a 6,831-megawatt capacity shortfall for its 2028/2029 delivery year, a shortfall Hoodline has attributed largely to projected data-center demand. Enforcement problems have already surfaced elsewhere in the state: in September, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a record $1.07 million penalty against DataOne's 300-megawatt data center site in Vineland after inspectors found 62 natural-gas backup generators running without required air pollution permits — the largest environmental fine ever levied against a data center operator in New Jersey.
Detention Facilities and ICE
Maplewood's ordinance also explicitly bars detention centers. Collingswood restaurant owner Iemad Saifo was detained by ICE on July 31.
It remains to be seen whether Maplewood's zoning ban, and the more than 100 like it across New Jersey, can withstand court challenges from commercial developers hoping to build in towns that have shut them out. It is also unclear how regional water and electric grid demands will be managed if neighboring municipalities that have not enacted bans keep approving mega-scale projects like the one in Kenilworth.
