Data center restrictions tracker · New Jersey

New Brunswick, New Jersey: data center zoning exclusion (2026)

Data snapshot 2026-08-15 · part of Pricing the Fear of Data Centers

New Brunswick, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on February 19, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.

The record reads: "New Brunswick, New Jersey, City Council voted unanimously on Feb 19, 2026 to remove data centers as a permitted use from the Jersey-Sandford Redevelopment Plan, killing the Amzak Capital-backed 27,000 sq ft AI data center proposal… (datacentertracker.org)."

Details

ActionClassStatusDateMW thresholdScopeSource
Zoning exclusionrestrictionenactedFebruary 19, 2026not county-widedatacentertracker.org

Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Middlesex County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.

Elsewhere in Middlesex County

New Jersey context

New Jersey has 24 documented local actions across 23 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted).

A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.

Sources

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