The Board approved a six-month moratorium on data center applications. The minutes record approval of the moratorium.

The draft amendment would require a data storage center site to have at least 100 acres. Minimum lot area: 100 acres.

The draft would require direct access to an arterial, connector, or collector road and a suitable second means of emergency ingress and egress. Road access and emergency access requirements.

The draft would require a 1,000-foot-wide buffer from property lines and an additional 1,000-foot buffer along street frontages, with evergreen screening, planting and maintenance requirements, and a performance guarantee for the plantings. The 1,000-foot buffer requirement.

The draft would restrict equipment placement: data center equipment could not be between the principal buildings and the street, and the use would need principal buildings between the equipment and adjacent residential uses. It would also require containment and proper disposal of fuel, grease, oil, or similar pollutants. Equipment siting and spill-control rules.

The draft would require gated entrances to include off-site queuing space for at least one tractor-trailer. Minimum queuing space.

The draft would require an eight-foot-high black poly-coated chain-link fence around the development, unless the Board approves another material. Perimeter fence requirement.

The draft would prohibit parking or loading and unloading on or along public roads. Public-road parking and loading prohibition.

The draft would limit exterior building colors to low-reflective, subtle, or earth tones and prohibit fluorescent and metallic exterior wall colors. Exterior color limits.

The draft says LEED certification is encouraged and calls for roof-mounted accessory solar energy systems. Solar and LEED language.

The draft would require coordination with the Wayne County Control Center to ensure adequate emergency-radio coverage inside the building, including installation of enhancement systems if needed. Emergency-radio coverage requirement.

The draft would require evidence of adequate water and sewage service with the land development application. For a public or centralized utility, the applicant would need a utility-owner letter confirming willingness and capacity to serve. Water and sewage service documentation.

For proposed water withdrawals of 4,000 gallons per day or more over a 30-day period, the draft would require a water resources impact study, including professional preparation, well testing, monitoring, water-quality analysis, and assessment of impacts on nearby wells and water resources. The 4,000-gallon study threshold.

The draft would require proof of Delaware River Basin Commission review and approval for withdrawals averaging at least 100,000 gallons per day over 30 days, or consumptive use averaging at least 20,000 gallons per day over 30 days. DRBC approval thresholds.

For on-lot sewage disposal, the draft would require the applicant to demonstrate safe and adequate capacity for the conditional-use application and submit a report on sewage flows, soil testing, treatment methods, and system layout. On-lot sewage application requirements.

The draft would require an environmental impact assessment with the conditional-use application, prepared by a qualified professional and addressing matters including nuisance impacts, stormwater, plan consistency, alternatives, mitigation, and environmentally sensitive areas. Environmental assessment requirement.

The draft would require an electric-service interconnection agreement with the conditional-use application, confirming available capacity and noting known project-related impacts on electric rates or availability for other users. Electric interconnection agreement requirement.

The draft would require a fire-protection plan for the site, submitted to the Township and local volunteer fire company for review and comment, and a Knox-type emergency-access box on access gates. Fire plan and access-box requirements.

The draft would require an affidavit or other evidence that the property owner has authorized the applicant or operator to apply for conditional use. Permission-to-apply requirement.

The draft would require sound studies by a professional acoustical expert and sound limits of 67 dB(A) during weekday daytime hours and 57 dB(A) at night and on weekends, measured at external property lines. Studies would be required during conditional-use review, building-permit review, and six months after occupancy; later studies could also be required. Violations must be remediated, and permits may be revoked if not corrected within 90 days of notice. Noise limits, study stages, and enforcement.

The New Jersey ordinance introduced in September 2026 would define computer and data-processing centers and facilities narrowly: no more than 10 MW of cumulative on-site peak power per campus, site, lot, or tract; rack density no greater than 15 kW per rack or area density no greater than 200 watts per square foot; air-cooled heat rejection only; and no direct-to-chip or immersion liquid cooling. It also excludes high-density cloud, crypto-mining, hyperscale, and similar facilities from that definition. The proposed definition and limits.

The ordinance states that computer and data-processing centers are already listed as permitted principal uses in several nonresidential zones, including HC, OB-1, ROM-1, ROM-3, and the Planned Unit Development Overlay. This is an existing-use statement, not a new permission created by the ordinance. The newly defined category is limited to facilities with no more than 10 MW of aggregate on-site peak power, rack density no greater than 15 kW per rack or 200 watts per square foot, air-cooled heat rejection only, and no direct-to-chip or immersion liquid cooling; high-density cloud, crypto-mining, hyperscale, and similar facilities are excluded. “permitted principal use”