The dispute in Andover Township centers on two ordinances recently passed by the township committee that some residents say were illegally tailored to pave the way for a data center.
But Andover Mayor Thomas Walsh Jr. says the township has been open about the possibility of bringing a data center to the township. He argues a potential facility could bring in millions in annual tax revenue.
“This has not been hidden by anybody,” Walsh told NJ.com on Thursday. “We’ve been very, very open about everything we do.”
The controversy centers on largely undeveloped land that was once the home to the now-closed Newton Airport. Township officials say there have been discussions about a developer building a data center on the site that could potentially bring Andover millions in revenue through a payment in lieu of taxes deal.
The construction of data centers, including sites that fuel artificial intelligence, have drawn opposition in towns around New Jersey. The sites, which are filled with computer servers, have been criticized for using massive amounts of electricity to power them and huge amounts of water for cooling. Some neighbors have also complained about the constant humming noise some AI data centers emit.
Andover officials have already made a series of zoning changes residents say could benefit a data center developer. In September 2025, officials approved an ordinance allowing data centers in a redevelopment zone along Route 206, according to meeting documents.
In April, residents packed a contentious township committee meeting where officials voted to raise the height limit for facilities in the redevelopment zone to 65 feet — or approximately six stories. That would allow the new construction to be taller than other buildings in the area.
Local residents and advocacy groups have since organized protests and called for the ordinances to be rescinded.
In an April 24 legal notice, Anand Dash, an attorney representing Andover residents, challenged the ordinances, arguing they violate state Municipal Land Use Law and were crafted to benefit a single developer.
“The Andover Township Committee deliberately removed any significant zoning obstacles to one of the most debatable types of developments in the country,” Dash wrote.
The filing alleges the changes were made to benefit Andover HPC Development, a Delaware-based company tied to a property at 248 Stickles Pond Road.
Andover HPC Development registered to do business in New Jersey in December 2025 and lists the property as its address, according to state records. The company says it was formed to develop high-performance computing data centers.
However, no site plan or formal application for the Stickles Pond Road site has been filed with the township’s land use board, a required step before any project can move forward. No developer has closed on purchasing the property either, township officials said.
Andover HPC Development could not be reached for comment.
According to the mayor, discussions about a potential data center at the site were raised publicly as far back as August during a committee meeting.
The land on Stickles Pond Road, a roughly 97-acre property zoned for industrial and commercial use, sits less than 1,000 feet from Route 206, according to listing records. It was previously home to Newton Airport, which closed in 2013, and remains largely undeveloped.
Walsh said the property currently generates about $29,000 a year in property taxes under a farmland assessment. It was already approved for a 660,000-square-foot warehouse in 2024 with little public opposition. He said a developer later approached the township about building a data center instead, which local officials thought may be less disruptive than a warehouse served by large trucks.
A data center could generate between $4.5 million and $5.2 million annually through a payment in lieu of taxes agreement, known as a PILOT, Walsh said. That is significantly more than the site’s current tax revenue and could be a significant addition to the township’s annual $11.4 million budget.
The mayor also acknowledged concerns around environmental impacts and the rising costs some data centers can bring.
Data centers — large, warehouse-like buildings filled with servers that store and process data — have been around for decades to support cloud computing and online services. But the rapid growth of high-performance and artificial intelligence facilities has drawn increased attention from residents and officials across the country.
The facilities can use millions of gallons of water to keep systems cool and have been linked to rising electricity costs in some communities.
In Kenilworth, a $1.8 billion data center under construction has drawn backlash from locals who say they were unaware of the project until work was already underway.
In South Jersey, a 2.6 million-square-foot data center is rising in Vineland. Residents have launched a petition to try to stop the project, saying a constant humming noise from the site is already disturbing nearby residents.
Andover’s mayor said the township council will introduce an ordinance in the coming weeks to add restrictions on data centers. Those could include requiring a closed-loop cooling system, meaning water would be reused rather than continuously drawn from local sources, along with limits on noise and lighting.
“We’re trying to take care of the negatives,” said Walsh, who has lived in Andover for more than 65 years. “My main issue is getting the proper message out to the people of Andover Township. We would never do anything to hurt the town.”
Still, some residents argue the zoning changes suggest the groundwork for a data center has already been laid without their input.
If the ordinances are not rescinded by May 7, the date of the next committee meeting, residents plan to file a lawsuit in Superior Court, according to the April 24 legal notice.
“Andover Township elected officials leveraged an unlawful scheme to deprive its citizens of a reasonable and fair opportunity to legally object to a highly contentious data center development,” wrote Dash, the attorney representing Andover residents.
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