Cranford Says No To AI Data Centers With New Zoning Change

CRANFORD, NJ — Cranford is taking steps to keep large-scale artificial intelligence data centers from coming to town, with officials saying the technology has changed significantly from what was originally envisioned when data centers were added to the township’s zoning rules.

The Township Committee unanimously approved a new policy Tuesday that removes data centers as a permitted use in the township’s commercial zones.

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Officials said the decision comes as modern AI data centers have grown much larger and more resource-intensive than the smaller facilities that were originally considered when the zoning rules were created.

Commissioner Brian Andrews said the township’s previous zoning rules were written at a time when data centers generally referred to smaller facilities used for backup storage and recovery.

“We rezoned it a few years ago, and it was out of a desire to see more economic dynamism out of the commercial area in town,” Andrews said. “And this is before data centers were data centers. These AI data centers consume so many resources and are such a concern.”

Andrews said the original intent was to allow smaller facilities designed primarily for backup data storage.

“Obviously the term and the reality have come to mean something else, and given that, we wanted to move quickly to remove that as a permitted use,” Andrews said.

The discussion also gave residents some background on how data centers first became part of Cranford’s zoning rules.

During the public hearing, Gary Morris, a resident of neighboring Fanwood, asked township officials why data centers were included in the zoning code originally.

“I was just curious about how data centers got added as a permitted use originally,” Morris said. “Was there a specific reason they were included, or was this something the township anticipated becoming a larger issue?”

Deputy Mayor Paul Gallo said the original zoning change was made at a time when businesses were looking for secure backup locations to store and recover important information.

“We did it unanimously as a body,” Gallo said.

Gallo explained that after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, many financial institutions were looking for backup locations for data recovery and storage.

“After 9/11, one of the large financial institutions, as many of them were, were looking for backup locations for data recovery and data storage,” Gallo said.

Gallo said the township did not anticipate the type of large-scale artificial intelligence data centers being developed today.

“Since that time, AI data centers have become something that we certainly did not anticipate, nor were we looking to add here in Cranford,” Gallo said.

Township officials said the updated zoning rules allow Cranford to address concerns about large-scale data centers before any proposals are brought forward.

“We’ve seen the impact that they can have, and we want to be very responsive to the community,” officials said during the ordinance discussion.

The ordinance passed following the public hearing and a unanimous vote from the Township Committee.

The change prevents future data centers from being approved as a permitted use in Cranford’s commercial areas. Existing facilities are not affected by the updated rules.