New Jersey Pinelands towns ban data centers as state commission lets eleven local bans take effect
By the end of September 2026, the Pinelands Commission had cleared data center bans in eleven towns and a moratorium in a twelfth, with more ordinances awaiting review.
Data center developers looking at land in southern New Jersey's Pinelands are finding a growing number of towns where the use is simply not allowed. The New Jersey Pinelands Commission reported in its September 2026 monthly report that, as of the end of September, it had reviewed ordinances from eleven municipalities prohibiting data centers and from one enacting a six-month moratorium, and had determined that each “raised no substantial issue with respect to the standards of the Pinelands CMP and could take effect,” the review required by N.J. Admin. Code § 7:50-3.45.
N.J. Pinelands Comm'n, Monthly Report § 3.1 (Sept. 2026); N.J. Admin. Code § 7:50-3.45; N.J. Stat. Ann. § 40:55D-26; E. Kahn Dev. Corp. v. Twp. of Montgomery, No. SOM-L-001072-26 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. filed July 31, 2026)