Andover Township Considers Banning Data Centers After Meeting Turns Violent
May 18, 2026
Andover Township Considers Banning Data Centers After Meeting Turns Violent
Officials in Andover Township, New Jersey, are moving to ban all data centers following a contentious town committee meeting in early May that resulted in a resident’s arrest. The incident has heightened tensions over data center development in the region and sparked a broader debate about community engagement and public safety.
During the May 7 township committee meeting, officials were reviewing an ordinance that would impose stricter standards on a proposed data center development on a 97-acre site at 248 Stickles Pond Road, formerly home to Newton Airport, also known as Jump Airport. The proposed regulations included requirements for a closed-loop water cooling system, noise controls, and electric service and substation specifications. Previous meetings had already addressed legislation related to the height of the potential facility and its tax implications.
The meeting escalated during the public comment period when resident Shane Connolly concluded his remarks by saying, “was that so fucking hard?” In response, the mayor instructed police officers to remove Connolly from the room. Videos posted online show officers attempting to escort him out before tackling him to the floor, an incident that drew widespread attention.
Three days after the meeting, Mayor Thomas D. Walsh and Deputy Mayor Krista Gilchrist issued a joint statement announcing the introduction of an ordinance to ban data centers across the township. “No project, no money is worth tearing a town at its seams,” Walsh said. “Myself and some of the members of the committee – you don’t run for township committee and expect to have this kind of discourse. You don’t expect your life to be threatened, to get death threats to your family, your spouse, your children.” He added that a divided community over land development is detrimental and detracts from what has been a great community.
The proposed ordinance, introduced on May 12, would “include and designate data centers as a prohibited use in all zones within the township.” The committee is scheduled to vote on the measure at its May 28 meeting. In the statement, Deputy Mayor Gilchrist defended the police officers, saying the committee’s support for them was “unwavering” and accusing unnamed advocacy groups of “agitating people from other towns for their political interests and not the interests of Andover Township residents.”
The incident in Andover Township is not isolated. Local government meetings about data centers have increasingly turned confrontational across the United States. In December, three women were arrested in Port Washington, Wisconsin, after police alleged they disrupted a meeting, with video footage showing officers dragging them out of the premises. In February, a man was arrested at a meeting in Claremore, Oklahoma, for speaking 30 seconds over the allotted time; he was handcuffed and charged with trespassing. Some local officials have also faced direct intimidation: In January, Anthony P. Hinojosa of Troy, Illinois, was arrested for threatening to kill city officials or contractors involved in a data center proposal from Cloverleaf Infrastructure. In April, the home of an Indianapolis city councilor was struck by 13 bullets, with a “NO DATA CENTER” sign found at the doorstep. Anger over data centers has even led to an attempted arson attack at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
The growing backlash highlights the tension between the rapid expansion of data center infrastructure and local community concerns over noise, environmental impact, and quality of life. As municipalities across the country grapple with these issues, the Andover Township case may serve as a bellwether for how local governments balance economic development with public sentiment.
Source: datacenterdynamics
