The Data Center Divide
A policy snapshot ahead of the 2026 midterms. Mapping data center incentives, restrictions, and bans through legislation, regulations, and executive actions across all 50 states and 1,462 local jurisdictions.
Cranford Township
Anti-Data Center Policies
Cranford township’s enacted ordinance permits data centers as a principal use in C-1 zones but removes them from listed uses in C-2 and C-3, limiting locations without banning them townwide.
current law · Township of CranfordAmends Cranford’s land-development zoning rules in response to concerns about data centers’ scale, noise, and infrastructure impacts, removing them from the stated conditional-use provisions for the C-1, C-2, and C-3 zones.New Jersey Ordinance 2026-17 (2026)
What this means
The ordinance would remove data centers from the listed uses in the C-2 and C-3 zones, limiting where they can be built. But it lists them as a principal permitted use in C-1, which could make approval easier there; overall, the location limits are meaningful but not a town-wide ban. Data Center PPU — C-1
People behind it
- Township Committee
Introduced and adopted the ordinance.
- Patricia Donahue
As Municipal Clerk, was directed to provide required notices and submit the ordinance for review and filing.
Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements2
Data centers are not listed as permitted uses in the C-2 or C-3 zones; the amended table lists them as a principal permitted use in C-1. Data Center PPU — —
The ordinance’s nonresidential parking schedule requires one off-street parking space per 1,000 square feet of data-center gross floor area. 1 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area
Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions1
The use table lists data centers as a principal permitted use in C-1, which would allow them there without conditional-use approval; it lists no permission in C-2 or C-3. This conflicts with the ordinance title and stated aim of removing data centers from permitted conditional uses, so the text is inconsistent. Data Center PPU
Sources
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