Cherry Hill Township has joined a growing number of South Jersey municipalities that have formally banned the construction of large-scale data centers. On July 27, the Township Council unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting large-scale data centers as a permitted land use anywhere within the municipality.
Cherry Hill is the most populous municipality in Camden County, and the decision comes after Mayor David Fleisher announced back in May that no data center would be built in Cherry Hill during his time in office.
“We don’t think that Cherry Hill should be a guinea pig,” Fleisher said following the council meeting. “So while the technology is evolving, we wanted to be proactive and make sure that we eliminated a problem before it became one.”
Why Now
Before the ordinance was adopted, the township commissioned two reports from infrastructure consulting firm Artheon, which found that large data centers can consume enormous amounts of electricity and water. Some facilities may use as much power as more than 100,000 households combined while providing relatively limited benefits to the local community.
The main reasons cited for the ban include:
- increased electricity and water consumption,
- potential increases in utility costs,
- noise generated by cooling systems,
- potential impacts on the environment and residents’ quality of life.
Before adoption, the proposal was reviewed by the Cherry Hill Planning Board, which examined the zoning amendments in relation to the township’s existing Master Plan. City planner Christopher Dochney said the move aligns with the goals outlined in the Master Plan—preserving Cherry Hill as a “garden suburb” and protecting its natural resources.
Not a Complete Ban
The ordinance draws a clear distinction between large commercial data centers used for artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and similar operations and small server rooms operated by individual businesses for their own internal needs, which will continue to be permitted.
Should a developer wish to build a large data center in the future, they would need to obtain a special land-use variance from the zoning board—according to Dochney, one of the hardest approvals to obtain under the township’s zoning system. So far, no developer has approached the township with such a request.
Part of a Broader Trend
Cherry Hill is not alone in this move. In just the past few months, similar bans have been adopted by Mansfield and Chesterfield in Burlington County, as well as Medford. More broadly, more than a dozen South Jersey municipalities—including East Greenwich, Logan, Mantua, Millville, Monroe, Pilesgrove, Winslow, Andover, and Pemberton—have approved similar restrictions throughout 2026 as the debate over artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of data centers continues to grow.
The increasing number of local restrictions reflects broader concerns about the impact of large AI-driven data centers on electricity demand, water resources, infrastructure, and the quality of life in surrounding communities.
Sources: The Philadelphia Inquirer; WHYY; 70and73.com; Jersey Digs; Cherry Hill Township Ordinance 2026-10.