CRANFORD, NJ — Cranford officials are moving quickly to tighten local zoning rules after a major AI data center project in nearby Kenilworth sparked concerns about environmental and infrastructure impacts across the region.
During the May 19 Township Committee meeting, officials said the township was not aware of the Kenilworth project in advance and only became fully aware of its scope after construction was already underway nearby.
“Just so that you know the township did not have advance notice of this project, and we were just as surprised as many of you,” Mayor Kathleen Miller Prunty said. “We feel so strongly about not permitting AI data centers in Cranford that we decided not to delay, but to introduce an amendment to the land use ordinance at our official meeting on June 8.”
The discussion centers around a large-scale AI data center being developed by CoreWeave at the former Merck campus in Kenilworth. The project has drawn attention across Union County as residents and officials raise questions about potential impacts on power usage, water demand, and local infrastructure.
Officials in Cranford noted that the township had previously updated its zoning rules in August 2025 to broaden permitted uses in the Commerce Park (C-1 zone), which included “data centers” among a wider list of allowable developments intended to support redevelopment and reduce vacancies.
Commissioner Gina Black said that while the earlier zoning change included data centers, it was not intended with large-scale AI facilities in mind.
“We don’t want to see vacancies, we want to make sure that that is a robust commerce park,” Black said. “Let’s just say that data centers was one of those uses that was in that long list at that point in time. I don’t think it was a trigger for any of us seeing the concern in the communities right now.”
Township officials said the planned amendment, expected to be introduced June 8, would clarify the zoning language and explicitly prohibit AI-focused data center development in Cranford.
The issue has become part of a broader regional conversation as communities across Union County react to the Kenilworth project. Readers can view Patch’s earlier coverage of that development here:
The ordinance will next be formally introduced at a future Township Committee meeting before moving through the planning review process and public hearings.
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