NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF WINSLOW, COUNTY OF CAMDEN,

AND STATE OF NEW JERSEY, AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING ARTICLE I, CHAPTER 296-3.C “DISTRICTS ESTABLISHED; PROHIBITED USES” TO INCLUDE “DATA NODE”, AMENDING ARTICLE I, CHAPTER 296-7  “DEFINITIONS” TO REDEFINE THE TERM “DATA CENTER” AND DEFINE THE TERM “DATA NODE” WITHIN PINELANDS AREAS OF WINSLOW TOWNSHIP

            WHEREAS, the Mayor and Township Committee of the Township of Winslow, County of Camden, and State of New Jersey (the "Township"), desires to amend the Township Code, to define the redefine the term “Data Center” and define the term “Data Node” and prohibit such use within Pinelands Areas of Winslow Township; and

             WHEREAS, such land use zoning ordinance amendments have been referred to the Planning Board of Winslow Township for review and recommendations, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-26, and have been found to be substantially consistent with the Winslow Township Master Plan;

            NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor and Township Committee of Township of Winslow, County of Camden and State of New Jersey that:

Section 1.        Article I, Chapter 296-3 is amended and supplemented with Subsection D as follows:

                        D.        Data Node shall be a prohibited use in all Pinelands Areas of Winslow Township.

Section 2.        Article II, Chapter 296-7 “Definitions” shall redefine the term “Data Center” and define the term “Date Node” for zoning within Pinelands Areas as follows:

                              DATA CENTER

A building or buildings which are occupied primarily by computers and/or telecommunications equipment and related equipment where digital information is processed, transferred and/or stored, primarily to and from offsite locations, and include associated components such as telecommunication and data storage systems; server farms; redundant or “backup” power and data storage components; electrical transformers, substations, and other power supply infrastructure; data communication connections; environmental and safety controls for building climate, equipment cooling, and fire suppression; and security devices, systems, and installations, to serve as off-site or remote accessory facilities available and accessible to users via telecommunication or internet utilities for the purpose of aggregating collective computing demands for cloud servers, video streaming, blockchain and crypto mining, artificial intelligence and machine learning, virtual reality, and other internet telecommunication, computing, and data storage, maintenance, processing, and transmission purposes.  This use does not include computers or telecommunications related equipment that is secondarily or customarily incidental to an otherwise permitted use on the property, such as servers associated with an office building. 

                        DATA NODE

A small, self-contained computing unit, designed to be installed in or alongside a home to perform AI and other compute workloads. These nodes are part of a distributed data center model, where instead of relying on large, centralized data centers, computing power is spread across many small units in residential or small business properties.  Data nodes are not merely incidental to a principal use located on-site, but serve a principal use located off-site.

Section 3.        It is hereby found and determined that this Land Use Zoning Amendment Ordinance conforms to the Master Plan of the Township of Winslow.

Section 4.  This Ordinance shall take effect upon final passage and publication in accordance with law.

Notice is hereby given that the foregoing Ordinance was introduced and passed upon first reading at a regular meeting of the Mayor and Township Committee of the Township of Winslow on the   21st day of  July, 2026 , at 7:00 P.M., and the same was then ordered published according to law; and the same ordinance will be further considered for final passage during a meeting of the Mayor and  Township Committee of the Township of Winslow to be held in the Mayor Dominic Maiese Municipal Complex, 125 S. Route 73, Braddock, New Jersey on August 18, 2026, commencing at 7:00 P.M., prevailing time, or at any time and place to which such meeting from time to time may be adjourned. All persons interested will be given an opportunity during said time to be heard concerning such Ordinance by order of the Mayor and Township Committee.