Days after a chaotic township meeting ended with police forcibly removing a speaker, Andover Township officials announced they plan to ban all data centers — including those that fuel artificial intelligence.
Andover Township Mayor Thomas Walsh Jr. said in a statement that the township council will consider repealing two ordinances tied to potential data center development. Instead, the council will introduce a township-wide ban on data centers during a special committee meeting Tuesday.
“A divided community over land development is detrimental,” Walsh said in a public statement released over the weekend. “We’ve had some discourse over a project that we were considering for the township that may have brought in quite a bit of revenue. But we also agree that no project, no money is worth tearing it down at its seams.”
The announcement marks a dramatic shift in a data center controversy that has consumed the township for weeks. There is widespread opposition from residents who argue local officials are laying the groundwork for a future data center at a former airport property.
Andover Township is one of several towns across New Jersey where residents are pushing back against AI data center projects they say would draw too much electricity, use too much water for cooling systems and create constant noise.
Tensions began mounting in Andover after officials approved two controversial zoning changes. In September 2025, Use the same term throughout (confirm the municipal body’s official name and use it consistently; e.g., ‘township committee’ if that is correct) passed an ordinance allowing data centers in a redevelopment zone along Route 206, according to meeting documents. In April, hundreds of residents packed a contentious township committee meeting where officials voted to raise the height limit in the zone to 65 feet.
The property being considered for a possible data center is a roughly 97-acre site at 248 Stickles Pond Road, less than 1,000 feet from Route 206. The land was previously home to Newton Airport, which closed in 2013. The site was later used as a junkyard.
The site is zoned for industrial and commercial use and has remained largely undeveloped.
No formal site plan or application for a data center has been filed with the township’s land use board. However, state records show Andover HPC Development registered to do business in New Jersey in December 2025 and list the Stickles Pond Road property as its address. The company says it was formed to develop high-performance computing data centers.
Walsh previously told NJ.com a possible data center at the site could generate between $4.5 million and $5.2 million annually through a payment in lieu of taxes agreement, known as a PILOT. That would cover nearly one-third of the township’s $11.4 million budget.
The property currently generates about $29,000 a year in property taxes under a farmland assessment. In 2024, it was approved for a 660,000-square-foot warehouse, but Walsh said a developer later approached the township about building a data center instead.
In his May 9 public statement, Walsh said the site could also have been developed into a multifamily housing project. But township officials viewed a potential data center as a better alternative for the community.
The mayor also pushed back against claims that local officials made deals or agreements with developers.
“We the Township Committee were well intended to try to find a suitable alternative for the property and there were no deals or agreements with any developers with respect to the data center use,” Walsh said.
Deputy Mayor Krista Gilchrist, who joined Walsh in making the public statement, also defended the township’s police department, saying officers were unfairly criticized following the contentious public meeting last week.
“The township committee unwaveringly supports our police officers and they are being wrongfully vilified,” Gilchrist said. “At the moment, we have one of the safest towns in Sussex County because of them.”
The remarks followed the chaotic May 7 township committee meeting, where police forcibly removed a Butler resident from Hillside Barn after he spoke against the possible data center project. Videos recorded by attendees showed officers wrestling the man to the floor as members of the crowd shouted.
Walsh also said members of his family had received death threats amid the controversy.
Following the announcement, the Sussex Visibility Brigade, a local advocacy group that has helped organize opposition to the possible data center project, , but the group said it still had concerns about transparency. But the group said it still had concerns about transparency.
“There was a notable absence of any acknowledgment of wrongdoing or a promise to commit to a more open and transparent process moving forward,” the group said in a statement.
Sussex Visibility Brigade said residents still plan to attend Tuesday’s meeting to ensure the ordinances are formally repealed and the proposed ban is approved.
As high-powered artificial intelligence facilities spread across the country, data centers have become an increasingly divisive issue in New Jersey communities.
The warehouse-sized facilities are packed with rows of computer servers used to power artificial intelligence systems, cloud storage and online services. They have faced growing pushback because of the massive amounts of electricity and water they require to operate.
Many rely on large cooling systems that can consume millions of gallons of water annually, while critics also warn the facilities can strain power grids, increase electricity costs and generate constant noise from cooling equipment and backup generators.
Similar disputes are playing out in communities around New Jersey, including in Vineland and Kenilworth, where multibillion-dollar data centers are already under construction.
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