Sayreville council enacts 18‑month moratorium on new data centers after public concern

The Sayreville Borough Council voted May 26 to impose an 18‑month moratorium on new data center applications, citing resident concerns about noise, heat, energy demand and local infrastructure.

The motion, advanced during council reports and formalized later in the meeting, directs borough staff and relevant committees to study data center impacts on zoning, redevelopment zones and utility capacity and to report back to the council. Supporters said the pause will allow the borough to tour facilities, gather technical information and decide whether to extend or refine regulations. Opponents argued the moratorium’s limited length—18 months—may not be sufficient to settle long‑term technology and grid questions.

Why it matters: Developers have been pursuing large, energy‑intensive facilities regionally, and residents told the council they fear noise from cooling and backup systems, higher ambient temperatures, and unquantified effects on electric rates and water use. Council members also noted the borough’s fiscal pressures—aging schools and rising health‑care costs—when weighing potential ratables from new industrial users.

What council said: During the discussion, several councilmembers urged caution while acknowledging the borough’s need for new ratables. One councilmember said a time‑limited moratorium forces the borough and its professionals to collect information and present findings; another said a permanent ban might be more appropriate if technology and safeguards do not improve. The motion passed by roll call vote; names recorded in the transcript as voting yes include Councilperson Zabrowski, Councilman Kalisz, Councilman Rios and Councilman Sinarski; Councilman Lemaire and Councilperson Novak are recorded as voting no. The transcript does not show a complete, line‑by‑line tally for every member present, and the council noted the moratorium could be extended if needed.

Public input: The public comment period included multiple residents and technical speakers. Judy Lohrman, a recently retired product‑support representative for standby generators who said she worked with power systems for data centers, urged the council to seek technical briefings and tours and cautioned that much public misunderstanding centers on generators rather than server noise. Other residents urged a longer moratorium (up to five years) or a permanent ban; environmental‑advocacy groups voiced support for stronger local review.

Next steps: The resolution asks planning, engineering and legal staff to study noise, power‑grid impacts, cooling/water use, permit timing (time‑of‑application rules) and whether redevelopment and zoning ordinances should be amended. The council indicated it expects follow‑up reports and said any ordinance change would require formal adoption procedures.

Quotes: “We would change our ordinances both for zoning as well as redevelopment so that they would be banned…for a period of time,” a councilmember said when proposing the moratorium. A resident with data‑center experience told the council, “What I'm thinking is that people are misunderstanding humming…that is the backup generators.”

What the decision does not do: The moratorium applies to new applications after adoption and does not retroactively halt projects that filed before an ordinance is adopted (the time‑of‑application rule remains relevant).