Howell Moves To Ban AI Data Centers From Township

HOWELL, NJ — Howell Township has introduced an ordinance to ban data centers within the township, joining a number of New Jersey towns that have banned the facilities.

The ordinance, introduced at the July 14 council meeting, says it reconfirms data centers as a prohibited use under the town's zoning rules.

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The move to ban data centers comes as towns throughout the state and across the United States have moved to bar companies from setting up the large facilities over concerns about strains on the infrastructure and the environment including how much electricity and water they would use.

About two dozen towns have banned data centers in New Jersey already, Gov Tech reported, and more were considering it as of late June, the site said.

The ordinance is scheduled for a public hearing and final vote on Aug. 18.

Howell has faced multiple fights with developers who sought to convert vast parcels of property into warehouses and has been sued on at least two occasions on rejected applications.

The most recent was a proposal by AAVRHW Property to build a 200,000-square-foot warehouse at a site on Victory Road. The Howell Township Planning Board rejected the application in September 2024, but in November 2025 Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Henry Butecourt reversed the planning board and ordered the planning board to approve the plan with design waivers.

Residents at the July 14 council meeting approved of the proposed ban on data centers.

"As someone who was very involved with the warehouse wars in (2022 and '23), we certainly don't need to revisit that with data centers that are 10 times worse than any warehouse that could be built in town," one said.

"The world is rapidly changing and it's extremely important that our code is updated to reflect new definitions," another said. "This ordinance accomplishes that and how the community is going to function in the future."