ZoningOrdinances, redevelopment designations, housing-plan rezonings, board decisions, court rulings and state rules, each logged with its source and what it means for a site. The log is researched and extended every week.
Newest first. Severity: high changes what can be built, medium changes process or timing, info is context.
The Township Committee gave final approval on October 20 after introducing the ordinance October 6. It amends zoning chapter 271 for every district.
For a site: Neither use can be approved anywhere in Maplewood.
Food & Water Watch's tally reached 112 towns on October 20 with Millburn, Lawrence and Linden voting that night. Hearings were listed for Mahwah and Edison (Oct 26), Stanhope (Oct 27), Hamburg (Nov 2), Bethlehem (Nov 5), Rahway (Nov 9) and Little Egg Harbor (Nov 12). The count is an advocacy figure.
For a site: Roughly one in five New Jersey towns now bars data centers; check the local ordinance before assuming an industrial zone allows one.
An aggregator summary says the council introduced an ordinance cutting the warehouse size threshold to 50,000 sq ft and requiring 500-foot separation from homes and sensitive uses, now referred to the planning board. The source could not be opened.
For a site: Warehouse proposals in Jackson above 50,000 sq ft or within 500 feet of homes would face new limits if adopted.
The council voted 7-0 on first reading to amend Chapter 37, adding data centers to the uses prohibited in every zone and removing 'experimental or computation centers' from two permitted-use lists. Facilities of 4 MW per acre or 20 MW overall count regardless of name. Final vote set for October 26.
For a site: Once adopted, no Edison zone will permit a data center, including the industrial corridors.
The council voted 5-0 to approve a settlement allowing a continuing care retirement community at 1155 Pleasant Valley Way: 163 independent living, 84 skilled nursing and 64 assisted living units, seven counted as affordable. A zoning ordinance will follow. A sixth suit over 410 Main Street settled in August.
For a site: The Pleasant Valley Way site will be rezoned for a five-story CCRC; four builder's remedy suits remain against the township.
The council gave final approval on October 8 after introducing the ordinance September 10. It covers related substations, generators and cooling systems and exempts facilities serving a licensed health care provider's own operations.
For a site: Data centers are a prohibited use on every Hackettstown parcel.
A meeting summary says Resolution 416 stopped the township from accepting data center applications through year end, and the mayor expects another moratorium in early 2027. Adoption date and vote were not given.
For a site: No data center application will be accepted in Egg Harbor Township for the rest of 2026.
The board approved a five-story mixed-use building on a 0.85-acre Ironbound site with eight variances and two design waivers; one commissioner voted no over traffic.
For a site: Another Ironbound site clears approval with a 20% set-aside and multiple variances.
The free tool maps about 42,000 municipally owned parcels recorded as vacant, roughly 110,000 acres, across all 564 towns so that CDBG grantees can meet the federal ROAD to Housing Act database requirement. DCA is recruiting pilot towns.
For a site: Town-owned vacant parcels will become publicly searchable, which flags candidate sites for housing.
The August 6 settlement with AAMHMT Property LLC allows up to 450 units with 68 affordable on the 52-acre Route 35 site. The fairness hearing before Judge Acquaviva was set for October 2 in Freehold; the outcome was not confirmed.
For a site: If approved, the site is rezoned by settlement for a 450-unit project with a 15% set-aside.
Landmark won approval for a six-story rental building with 10,000 sq ft of retail, a public plaza and 143 structured parking spaces as part of its downtown Union redevelopment. The approval date was not stated in the October 20 report.
For a site: Another downtown Union parcel moves to construction at six stories.
The Greenstein/Stack bill prohibits data center applicants from agreements with approving authorities, municipal agencies or sellers that conceal project information, requires an attestation, and bars site plan or subdivision approval for violators. Senate passage was reported October 23; the Assembly has not acted.
For a site: If enacted, a data center application would need an NDA attestation before any board approval.
News 12 reported on October 14 that the committee voted to ban data centers after local organizing. The vote date, ordinance number and tally were not given.
For a site: Cranbury's warehouse-heavy industrial zones would no longer allow data centers.
The board voted 5-0 for an eight-story building under the Enos Jones Park Redevelopment Plan. The density bonus of 48 units is tied to a $1.68 million contribution to the park rather than on-site affordable housing.
For a site: Shows the park-contribution path to a density bonus under that plan being accepted by the board.
The plan from the Housing Governing Council doubles planned housing on state-owned land to 40,000 homes, introduces a state permit shot clock, a tax credit auction and a permitting dashboard, and targets 350,000 additional homes statewide. It is policy, not legislation.
For a site: State permits should move on fixed timelines and more state-owned parcels will come to market; local zoning is unchanged.
The law sets statewide standards for electric vehicle supply equipment and make-ready parking, removes site plan and land use board approval for them, and limits local review to safety impacts. Reported by the League of Municipalities.
For a site: EV charging installations no longer need a board approval; towns can only review safety aspects.
The council voted 7-0 with two abstentions on tax abatements for Boraie Development's project at 880-900 Garfield Avenue in Bergen-Lafayette: 508 homes, 102 affordable, 20,000 sq ft of commercial space and a 33,000 sq ft park on a former chromium site.
For a site: The first phase of the Canal Crossing redevelopment area now has its financing terms; construction can proceed.
The board unanimously approved HCI DP Land Acquisition's preliminary and final site plan for 4000 Bordentown Avenue: buildings of 308,200 and 406,300 sq ft. The applicant agreed to leave 90 proposed parking spaces unbuilt.
For a site: The site moves to construction under the redevelopment plan; a Conrail rail connection is allowed if a tenant asks for one.
The council passed the amendment on first reading on September 14 with a public hearing set for September 28. Only an aggregator summary was available; the adoption outcome was not confirmed.
For a site: The Jernee Mill Road redevelopment area would no longer allow a data center; the borough separately has an 18-month data center moratorium (Ord. 15-26).
The ordinance redoes a March 9 rezoning (Ordinance 0-2026) after notice defects were raised; the final vote followed certified notices to Morris Township neighbors. Morris Township signed a sewer agreement for the site on July 28. Reported in a commentary piece.
For a site: The Kitchell Road parcel is now in an affordable-housing zone; sewer approval still depends on Harding Planning Board approval of the project.
The state layer added 50 designations through July 27, 2026. DCA notes it is incomplete for designations before 2003.
For a site: In 380 towns a redevelopment plan may govern a parcel instead of the base zone. Check the layer and the plan.
The Township Committee introduced the ban on September 8. The public hearing, first set for September 21, was moved to November 9, 2026.
For a site: Data centers would become a prohibited use townwide once the ordinance is adopted; nothing changes until the November hearing.
The Division of Local Government Services issued guidance on community benefit agreements, off-site improvement ordinances and the prevailing wage and project labor rules that P.L. 2025, c. 335 and P.L. 2026, c. 32 apply to data centers. Seen via the League of Municipalities summary; the notice itself was not opened.
For a site: A town approving a data center now has state guidance on what it may require of the developer in exchange.
The Township Committee unanimously added data centers to the prohibited uses and stated that warehouses, flex space and research facilities do not include data centers. Accessory server rooms are capped at 10% of floor area or 2,000 sq ft. The township posted the notice on September 18.
For a site: No data center can be approved on any Raritan Township parcel; server rooms are limited to accessory scale.
The board recommended in September that the council designate roughly 17 acres around the county offices at 257 Cornelison Avenue, near Journal Square. Hudson County wants more than 1,000 publicly owned mixed-income apartments there. No council vote date was given.
For a site: If the council designates the area, a redevelopment plan will replace base zoning for the affected parcels.
The city's notice lists J-82 among second readings passed at the September 2 and September 16 council meetings and approved by the mayor on October 7, 2026. The notice does not say which date applies to J-82 or what the amendment changes.
For a site: Parcels in the Northwest Industrial Redevelopment Area are governed by the amended plan; read the amendment before relying on prior use or bulk standards.
Shorebeat reported on September 9 that the council introduced an ordinance that defines data centers and closes a possible loophole in industrial zones. The article could not be opened; adoption not confirmed.
For a site: Industrial parcels in Brick would lose any argument that a data center is a permitted use.
Three more towns adopted ordinances prohibiting data centers, bringing the advocacy-group tally of New Jersey municipalities with bans to 37.
For a site: Data centers are no longer a permitted use in these towns. Check the use table before any site work, even where industrial zoning looks permissive.
Ordinance 26-057 strips data centers from the list of permitted industrial uses, making Jersey City the 34th New Jersey town with a ban.
For a site: Industrial parcels in Jersey City can no longer host a data center by right; a use variance or plan change would be needed.
Suits challenge local bans, including a reported $300M claim against Monroe. Figures come from a search summary of the article.
For a site: Bans may be enjoined or overturned. Treat data-center use tables in these towns as contested.
The court upheld infrastructure commitments tied to the township's affordable-housing settlement. Reported from a search summary of counsel's announcement.
For a site: Settlement sites keep their path to sewer service, which supports density on those parcels.
Ordinance 2026-13 prohibits data centers. Adoption date taken from a search summary of the township posting.
For a site: Data centers are prohibited township-wide.
In Monarch Communities v. Township of Montville, the court unanimously held that applicants must first show no substantial impairment of the zone plan and ordinance before benefits are weighed.
For a site: Statewide: d(1) applications for inherently beneficial uses face a higher bar, and master plans carry more weight. Re-check variance strategy on pending applications.
Ordinance 15-2026, adopted July 2, 2026, bans data centers in the township.
For a site: Data centers are prohibited; any proposal needs a d(1) use variance.
The proposal would let more applications proceed under pre-REAL standards. Final adoption has not been confirmed.
For a site: Coastal and tidal projects may still qualify for legacy treatment; confirm the application date against the rule version.
The plan covers self-supplied power, grid costs, energy and water reporting, and community agreements. Siting stays with municipalities.
For a site: Local ordinances remain the controlling rule for where data centers can go.
Ordinance 26-05 was adopted on May 12, 2026.
For a site: Data centers are prohibited township-wide.
The city adopted a ban in May 2026 that stops a proposed 2.6 million square foot data center.
For a site: The proposed site cannot proceed as a data center under current zoning.
Resolution 2026-14 concerns a Highlands Redevelopment Area covering the former mall site in Lopatcong and Pohatcong.
For a site: Redevelopment of the mall site proceeds under Highlands redevelopment standards rather than standard Planning Area limits.
Agencies must inventory surplus state land, including NJ Transit property, to increase housing supply. It does not preempt local zoning.
For a site: Watch for state-owned parcels released for housing near transit.
Participating towns had to adopt the rezonings and resolutions that implement their Housing Element and Fair Share Plans.
For a site: Hundreds of inclusionary overlays and redevelopment zones took effect within weeks. Base-zone answers in participating towns may be out of date.
The emergency stay request was denied, so the March 15, 2026 ordinance deadline held.
For a site: Fourth Round rezonings proceed on schedule statewide.
The settled prospective need is 375 units, 196 below DCA's 571.
For a site: Check the adopted inclusionary sites and overlay districts before assuming base zoning.
The court approved the municipality's Housing Element and Fair Share Plan.
For a site: Compliance sites in the plan are now judicially approved.
Judge Lindemann approved the city's Fourth Round plan.
For a site: Compliance mechanisms and sites in the plan are approved.
A Program judge found the plan compliant only with the Special Adjudicator's fixes and rejected a mechanism tied to a future data center on the 34-acre former KPMG campus.
For a site: The KPMG site's future use is unsettled; expect a revised compliance mechanism.
The town adopted a redevelopment plan by ordinance for the site.
For a site: The plan, not the base zone, now governs use and bulk on the site.
The rules create Inundation Risk Zones and a climate-adjusted flood elevation 4 ft above FEMA's base flood elevation.
For a site: Coastal and tidal sites face higher design elevations and new limits; check which rule version applies.
Resolution 2025-19 adopts the State Development and Redevelopment Plan; cross-acceptance map amendments are still pending.
For a site: Planning-area designations shape state funding and infrastructure priorities.
The township moved to approve the settlement reached in mediation.
For a site: Settlement sites will be rezoned for inclusionary development.
The township reversed its April 2025 decision to allow cannabis businesses.
For a site: Cannabis retail is no longer a permitted use.
Fair Share Housing Center reported 423 adopted and filed Housing Element and Fair Share Plans, and is challenging more than 15.
For a site: Each filed plan names compliance sites that will be rezoned.
Judge Lougy dismissed the Local Leaders for Responsible Planning suits with prejudice.
For a site: The Fourth Round framework stands.
Two builder's remedy suits were filed against the township.
For a site: A successful builder's remedy can allow density beyond current zoning on the plaintiffs' sites.
P.L.2025, c.72 requires public entities to post legal notices on their own websites from March 1, 2026, with a one-year archive from July 1, 2026.
For a site: Ordinance and hearing notices for all 564 towns are now published online, where they can be monitored.
Seven went to Program judges: Hillsborough, Montvale, North Arlington, Old Bridge, Readington, Toms River and Warren Township.
For a site: Final obligations in those seven towns may differ from DCA's numbers.
The court held that federal rail law preempts the plan for the Conrail-owned parcels. Reported from a paywalled summary.
For a site: The affected parcels cannot be redeveloped under that plan while federal rail jurisdiction applies.