[00:00:01]
THE ART MUSEUM. DIA WE'RE READY WHEN YOU ARE. WE GOT TO TALK ABOUT IT. GOOD EVENING. THIS IS
[I. CHAIRMAN’S OPENING STATEMENT, ROLL CALL]
A REGULARLY SCHEDULED PUBLIC WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE PLANNING BOARD OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MAHWAH. ADEQUATE NOTICE OF THIS MEETING HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY PUBLICATION IN THE RECORD AND THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS. COPIES OF THE AGENDA HAVE BEEN FORWARDED TO THE TOWNSHIP CLERK AND POSTED ON THE MUNICIPAL WEBSITE AND THE PLANNING AND ZONING BULLETIN BOARD. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS MEETING IS BEING RECORDED AND STREAMED ON THE TOWNSHIP OF MAHWAH LIVE VIDEO PAGE. WE HAVE A FEW EXITS, BOTH TO THE RIGHT AND LEFT OF THE AISLE HERE AND DIRECTLY DOWN THE CENTER. WE ALSO HAVE AN EXIT HERE TO THE LEFT OF THE DAIS. ROLL CALL. MAYOR. MR. ERVIN HERE. GALLO HERE. MR. GREENWALD, MISS JANKOWSKI HERE. MISS MICELI HERE. MR. MILLER HERE. MR. O'LEARY HERE. MR. MONTROY HERE, MR. REINERTSEN. THANK YOU. OKAY, GEORGE. THE PLEDGE. ALLEGIANCE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND[II. APPROVAL OF BILLS]
JUSTICE FOR ALL. OKAY. FIRST MATTER ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT IS THE APPROVAL OF BILLS. WE HAVE FIRST, THE COLLIERS ENGINEERING AND DESIGN BILL, AND I GUESS WE COULD DO THEM ALL TOGETHER. AND WE ALSO HAVE THE BILL OF OUR ATTORNEY. CAN I GET A MOTION ON THAT MOTION? SECOND. MOTION BY VICKI. SECOND BY MEG. ROLL CALL PLEASE, MR. IRVIN. YES, MISS. YES. MR. JANKOWSKI. YES. MISS.MICELLI. YES. MR. MILLER. YES. MR. O'LEARY. YES. MR. MONTROY. YES. THANK YOU. OKAY. NEXT
[III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
MATTER IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM OUR MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2026. CAN I GET A MOTION ON THAT? MOTION. MOTION BY MEG. SECOND BY SECOND BY EDITOR. ROLL CALL PLEASE.MR. IRVIN. YES. YES. MR. JANKOWSKI. YES. YES. MR. MILLER. YES. MR. O'LEARY. YES. MR. YES.
[V. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC]
THANK YOU. OKAY. THIS IS NOW THE PORTION OF THE MEETING THAT WE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. CAN I GET A MOTION, PLEASE? MOTION TO OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. MOTION BY GEORGE, SECOND BY TRACY. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. OKAY. THIS IS THE PORTION OF THE MEETING WHERE WE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO THE PLANNING BOARD, YOU CAN COME UP AND ASK. I'D ASK YOU TO STATE YOUR FULL NAME. SPELL YOUR LAST AND GIVE US YOUR ADDRESS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANYTHING THAT. WELL, THERE'S NOTHING ON TONIGHT. SO YEAH, WE HAVE NO HEARINGS ON. SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO COME UP TO THE MICROPHONE. JUST MAKE SURE THAT MICROPHONE IS ON. YOU MIGHT HAVE TO TURN IT ON. YEAH. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS AUDREY GOULD. I LIVE ON MILLER ROAD, MAHWAH. EVENING, MISS GOLD. EXCUSE ME, I SAID GOOD EVENING.GOOD EVENING. MY COMMENTS HAVE TO DO WITH ORDINANCE 2105 THAT I THINK YOU'LL BE DISCUSSING TONIGHT. LET'S SEE. SO I, I GUESS YOU'RE GOING TO DO A PLAN, RIGHT? SO I'M NOT REALLY YOU DON'T HAVE THE PLAN YET. RIGHT. ON THIS PARTICULAR THING. SO I'M NOT SURE TO WHAT EXTENT YOU'LL BE DISCUSSING IT. WELL WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN. WE'RE REVIEWING THE ORDINANCE.
REVIEWING IT. OKAY. WELL, ANYWAY, HERE'S MY THOUGHTS ON THAT. IT TALKS ABOUT ANYTHING REGARDING DATA CENTERS. IT TALKS ABOUT ANYTHING OVER IN EXCESS OF 50MW, WHICH IS CONSIDERED HYPER HYPERSCALE. THAT BRINGS TO, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S A VERY WELL WRITTEN ORDINANCE. BUT THAT BRINGS TO QUESTION, WHAT ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S UNDER 50MW, LIKE 49MW? WELL, ACTUALLY, I THINK IT INCLUDES 50. SO I GUESS MY GENERAL THOUGHTS ARE THAT YOU REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT THAT. ALSO, BECAUSE 50 IS CONSIDERED A MID-SIZED. AND FROM THE RESEARCH I'VE BEEN DOING, THAT HAS CONSIDERABLE IMPACT ALSO. LET'S SEE, IT SAYS NON NON PORTABLE WATER ELECTRIC COOLING MAY DISCHARGE BLOW DOWN TO SANITARY OR STORM SEWERS. I THINK I GOT THIS RIGHT OUT OF THE ORDINANCE. MAY NEED EMERGENCY GENERATORS ASSOCIATED
[00:05:04]
WITH DIESEL NATURAL GAS FUEL GENERATORS WHICH SO MISS GOLD NOT TO CUT YOU OFF WHEN WE'RE HAPPY TO LISTEN TO YOU, BUT WE'RE NOT CREATING THE ORDINANCE. NO, I KNOW WE'RE JUST DOING A REVIEW TO SEE IF IT'S CONSISTENT WITH OUR MASTER PLAN. IS IT POSSIBLE TO REVIEW THE IMPACT OF SOMETHING UNDER 50MW? THE ORDINANCE SPEAKS TO THAT. HYPERSCALE IS 50 AND OVER.REGULAR DATA CENTER IS. FOR IS FOR UP TO 49. A REGULAR DATA CENTER IS PERMITTED IN TWO DIFFERENT ZONES, AND WE CAN MAYBE IF YOU WANT TO HANG BACK A MINUTE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT ALL OF THAT AND MIGHT ANSWER SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS, BECAUSE THE ORDINANCE CREATES TWO CLASSES OF DATA CENTERS, DATA CENTER AND DATA CENTER DASH HYPERSCALE. SO DATA CENTERS ARE EQUATED WITH WHAT OUR OLD ORDINANCE IS, WHICH IS A COMPUTATION CENTER THAT IS UP TO 49 HYPERSCALE, AND THAT'S PERMITTED IN TWO DIFFERENT ZONES AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN HYPERSCALE. THIS ORDINANCE PROHIBITS EVERYWHERE. I UNDERSTAND THE DEFINITION. I'M SAYING THAT 49 AND 50 ARE ONLY ONE MEGAWATT DIFFERENCE. SO IF 50 COULD BE A PROBLEM, THEN TO ME, 49 IS ALSO A PROBLEM. AND I'M ASKING, CAN YOU ASK THE PLANNER OR WHATEVER ENGINEER YOU'RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH TO REVIEW? WHAT'S THE IMPACT OF 30MW? WHAT'S THE IMPACT OF 40? WHAT'S THE IMPACT OF 49? I THINK THE IDEA WAS LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, SOME POINT A LINE HAS TO BE DRAWN AND STUFF LOCATED CLOSE TO THE LINE MAY HAVE AN IMPACT, YOU KNOW, BUT THE LINE HAS TO BE DRAWN SOMEWHERE. IF THE LINE WERE DRAWN AT 31, WE'D BE SAYING, WELL, WHAT ABOUT ONE? THAT'S 29.
BUT THE LINE WAS CHOSEN BY THE GOVERNING BODY AT 50. SO YOU'RE SAYING YOU'RE NOT THERE. WE'RE AS A TOWN, WE'RE NOT GOING TO REVIEW ANYTHING UNDER 50. NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M SAYING AT ALL. UNDER 50 IS PERMITTED INTO ZONES. IT STILL HAS TO HAVE A FULL SITE PLAN. REVIEW PROCESS STILL HAS TO COME TO A BOARD, STILL IS ONLY ALLOWED IN THOSE TWO ZONES. AND THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE. OVER 50 IS PROHIBITED IN EVERY ZONE. SO THE, THE, THE WEIGHT OF THIS ORDINANCE REALLY IS THAT A LINE WAS DRAWN AT 50, WHICH APPEARS TO BE THE DEFINITION OF HYPERSCALE, AND THAT THAT OUR PLANNERS DETERMINED SHOULD BE PROHIBITED EVERYWHERE UNTIL WE CAN GET A BETTER HANDLE ON THE QUESTIONS THAT IT EVOKES. SO WHAT IF WHAT IF SOME INFORMATION COMES IN WHEN YOU SAY YOU GET A BETTER HANDLE? THAT 50MW COULD BE A PROBLEM? WOULD YOU THEN REVIEW AND MAYBE RECOMMEND TO THE COUNCIL TO LOWER THE NUMBER TO SAY, 30, WHICH IS WHAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS RECOMMEND? THERE'LL BE A STUDY. YOU'VE BEEN ASKED TO CONDUCT A STUDY BY THE GOVERNING BODY. THAT STUDY IS DUE, I THINK, NEXT SUMMER, AND THAT MAY INCLUDE ANY NUMBER OF OF RECOMMENDATIONS. IT COULD BE ANYTHING FROM DON'T ALLOW THEM ANYWHERE AT ALL. COULD BE ALLOW THEM IN 1 OR 2 PLACES. IT COULD BE DON'T OR DO ALLOW THEM, BUT CHANGE THAT DIVIDING LINE WHERE WE MAKE A DETERMINATION THAT IT'S MORE THAN A REGULAR DATA CENTER. IT'S A HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER. ALL OF THAT STUFF WILL HAPPEN IN THE RECOMMENDATION PORTION TONIGHT IS SIMPLY DETERMINING IF THE ORDINANCE ITSELF IS CONSISTENT WITH THE MASTER PLAN. I SEE THAT'S OUR ONLY JOB TONIGHT. YOU KNOW, I HAVE OTHER THOUGHTS. I DON'T KNOW IF IT COULD BE INPUT INTO THE STUDY OR NOT. ONE THOUGHT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDING A CLOSED SYSTEM. WHICH WOULD MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE WATER WISE. ANOTHER IDEA IS I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE, BUT TO USE TREATED SEWAGE WATER, GRAY
[00:10:05]
WATER FOR A POWER PLANT AS OPPOSED TO OUR FRESH AQUIFER WATER. AND I GUESS ANOTHER THOUGHT THAT I HAD WAS THAT IF 50MW ARE ALLOWED AND THAT WOULD BE AT EACH DIFFERENT SITE, SO YOU COULD HAVE 50MW AT CROSSROADS, YOU COULD HAVE 50MW, YOU KNOW, ON MACARTHUR BOULEVARD, THAT'S 100MW. BUT WE DON'T LOOK AT THAT AS A TOTAL. WE'RE LOOKING AT IT AS INDIVIDUAL IMPACTS, BUT WE SHOULD LOOK AT IT AS A TOTAL BECAUSE IT COMES FROM THE SAME PLACE IT COMES. YOU KNOW, IT'S THE SAME GRID AND IT'S THE SAME AQUIFER. THESE ARE JUST MY THOUGHTS. AND LET'S SEE, I GUESS I'D ALSO WANT TO KNOW IF WE HAD A DROUGHT, WHICH WE HAVE, AND WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO CONSERVE WATER, WOULD THEN THE DATA CENTER ALSO HAVE TO CONSERVE WATER. I GUESS THAT'S IT. YOU KNOW, ANYONE COULD GOOGLE THESE STATISTICS. IT SAYS 300,000 GALLONS A DAY IS WHAT, A TOWN OF 25,000 PEOPLE, WHICH IS US. THAT'S WHAT WE.YOU. KNOW, LET'S SAY TRADITIONAL EVAPORATED SYSTEMS USES 300,000 GALLONS A DAY OF OF WATER. WE USE SAYS 2 MILLION. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE USING A LOT OF WATER NOW. AND OF COURSE, THERE'S A CONCERN ABOUT THE AQUIFER NOT HAVING ENOUGH WATER, WHICH WAS WHY WE CONNECTED TO.
THAT'S WHY YOU'RE DOING THE STUDY, BECAUSE WE JUST WE DON'T HAVE WE DON'T HAVE ANY ANSWERS.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING THE STUDY. YES. WELL, ANYWAY, I HOPE SOME OF THESE POINTS ARE CONSIDERED IN THE STUDY. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU, MISS GOLD. ANYONE ELSE CAN YOU PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS, PLEASE? SURE. JIM PORTER, 250 ORCHARD DRIVE. NICE TO MEET YOU, MR. PORTER. NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO. I'M IN NO WAY AN EXPERT ON THIS STUFF, SO I ACTUALLY, NEITHER ARE WE. YOU DON'T MIND ME ASKING SOME QUESTIONS? I KNOW THE TOWN COUNCIL IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. YOU STATE SOME THINGS, YOU DON'T GET AN ANSWER RIGHT BACK RIGHT AWAY. SO I WASN'T SURE HOW IT WORKS. OKAY. BUT I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY A COUPLE THINGS. SO WHEN IT'S IT'S TWO ZONES. SO THAT MEANS IT'S TWO ZONES AT CROSSROADS. NO, NO, THERE ARE TWO ZONES. MARY JO. WHAT TWO ZONES PERMIT COMPUTATION CENTERS? I THINK IT WAS I P YOU HAVE IT. OH IN THE ENTIRE TOWN SHOULD BE THE OP2 HUNDRED AND THE ORP 200. SO THOSE TWO ZONES HAVE ALWAYS PERMITTED COMPUTATION CENTERS WHICH WE'VE THE TOWN HAS TAKEN TO BE ROUGHLY THE SAME THING AS A DATA CENTER. RIGHT. BUT IT ONLY PERMITS REGULAR DATA SETS, RIGHT. HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS ARE PROHIBITED EVERYWHERE UNTIL THERE'S A STUDY DONE AND SOME DETERMINATIONS COULD BE MADE. WHAT'S REASONABLE AND WHAT'S NOT. NOW, YOU'VE TOUCHED ON SOMETHING INTERESTING, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THIS SPEEDS OUR HEARING ALONG, EVERYBODY'S GETTING THIS INFORMATION. OH, I DIDN'T SEE YOU COMING.
CROSSROADS IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE CROSSROADS IS NOT SUBJECT TO THIS ORDINANCE, BECAUSE CROSSROADS IS SUBJECT TO A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. THIS ORDINANCE DOES NOT APPLY TO CROSSROADS. AM I CORRECT IN THAT, NICK? JUST LET ME. THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING. OKAY, SO REMEMBER CROSSROADS IS NOT GOVERNED BY THE TOWNSHIP'S GENERAL ZONING ORDINANCE. OKAY? CROSSROADS IS GOVERNED BY AN EXTENSIVE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT'S PROBABLY BEEN REVISED FIVE TIMES. AND THAT REDEVELOPMENT PLAN INCLUDES THE ABILITY TO CONSTRUCT, QUOTE, DATA CENTERS, DOES NOT SPECIFY REGULAR OR HYPERSCALE. OKAY. SO THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK THE GOVERNING BODY WAS VERY CONCERNED WITH WHEN THEY FELT THAT WE SHOULD BE UNDERTAKING A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF SOME OF THIS STUFF AND STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE ON IT. AND OF COURSE, GEORGE IS ALWAYS THERE. SO BUT UNDERSTAND HYPERSCALE NOT ALLOWED ANYWHERE, REGULAR ALLOWED IN TWO ZONES. NOTHING WE'RE DISCUSSING TONIGHT CHANGES ANYTHING TO DO WITH CROSSROADS. I THOUGHT AGAIN, LEARNING. I THOUGHT THIS ORDINANCE WAS BASED AROUND THAT PROPERTY POTENTIALLY PICKING UP A DATA CENTER. NOT AT ALL. SO WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR EXPRESSING CONCERNS ABOUT THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AT CROSSROADS SPECIFICALLY, SINCE
[00:15:05]
THAT'S SUCH A LARGE PIECE, WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN YET. WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. THERE'S NO PLAN.WELL, THERE ISN'T. THERE IS AN APPLICATION THAT WAS CONFIRMED THAT WAS APPROVED. THEY HAVE WE HAVE AN APPROVED APPLICATION FOR TWO WAREHOUSES. RIGHT. IT'S A WAREHOUSE. IT'S A WAREHOUSE SITUATION. YEAH. THERE'S NO THERE'S NO PLAN FOR THAT. SO IF THEY WANT TO, IF THE MY UNDERSTANDING, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG IS THAT IF THEY WANT, IF THE DEVELOPER WANTED TO CHANGE THEIR PLAN OF BUILDING A WAREHOUSES, THEY WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK AND FILE A NEW APPLICATION AND YOU'D BE ABLE TO BE HERE AND COMMENT. OKAY. BUT TO BE CANDID WITH YOU, THAT REDEVELOPMENT PLAN ALLOWS DATA CENTERS UNDEFINED. BECAUSE WHEN THAT PLAN WAS DONE, I DON'T THINK ANYONE WAS DEFINING REGULAR VERSUS HYPERSCALE. IT WAS SORT OF A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF THAT, WHERE IT BECAME COMMON FOR PEOPLE TO TALK. WHO REGULATES THAT, THAT PLAN, LIKE WHO COMES HERE SO THAT SO CHANGES COULD BE MADE TO THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN TO PUT LIMITATIONS ON WHAT THEY CAN DO. CHANGING. NO. IF THE DEVELOPER CHANGES THEIR APPLICATION, THIS BOARD WILL HEAR AN AMENDED APPLICATION. OKAY. OTHER THAN THAT, THE DEVELOPER AND THE TOWNSHIP WOULD HAVE TO VERY LIKELY AGREE ON CHANGES TO THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. BECAUSE REMEMBER, THAT REDEVELOPMENT PLAN IS REALLY BASED IN ANY NUMBER OF HALF A DOZEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING SETTLEMENTS. SO THE DEFINITION OF WHAT'S ALLOWED THERE CARRIED THROUGH FROM A BUNCH OF COURT SETTLEMENTS IMPLEMENTED BY A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT ITSELF WAS AMENDED MORE THAN A FEW TIMES. THAT NOW EXISTS, AND THAT PERMITS DATA CENTERS UNDEFINED ON THAT PROPERTY AND HAS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. SO HYPOTHETICALLY, THEY COULD THEY COULD COME IN AND APPLY FOR A NEW PLAN THAT HAS A HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER. THEY CERTAINLY COULD DO THAT. THAT WOULD PROBABLY CREATE A WHOLE LOT OF DISCUSSIONS OF WHAT WAS INTENDED, RIGHT, BY THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. AND THE ANSWER IS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'LL FILE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TOWNSHIP'S RESPONSE WOULD BE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS INTENDED BY THE ORIGINAL PLAN. AND, MR. MADDOW, WOULDN'T THAT ALSO ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING? WELL, WE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH THEM. NOT NECESSARILY NOT. IT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY NEGATIVELY AFFECT IT, WOULD IT, GEORGE? IT SURE COULD. IT COULD. BUT BUT IT'S NOT I MEAN WE COULD WELL WE WELL IF THEY AGREED TO BUILD 50 IF THEY AGREED THAT WE WOULD JUST PUT A 50, THEY HAVE TO BE COMPLIANT WITH OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT. I MEAN 100%. ANY CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE TO. THAT WOULD PROBABLY REQUIRE. BUT IF THEY CHANGED WHAT THEY WANTED TO BUILD THERE. I MEAN, IF HYPOTHETICALLY, IF IF CROSSROADS CAME TO THIS BOARD WITH AN APPLICATION TO BUILD A HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER, IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T END UP HEARING IT BASED ON WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN POTENTIALLY WITH THIS. WE DON'T HAVE THE INFORMATION TO PASS THAT. THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME DISPUTE OVER THAT LANGUAGE IN THAT AGREEMENT. I WOULD TELL YOU THAT AT THAT POINT, I WOULD IMAGINE A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO START TO TALK ABOUT IT. I WOULD TOO, BUT WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US IS THE MASTER PLAN CONSISTENCY OF THIS ORDINANCE. WE ARE NOT CHANGING THE FIVE YEAR OLD REDEVELOPMENT PLAN OR THE TEN YEAR OLD REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. WE CAN'T. RIGHT? IT'S NOT WITHIN OUR ABILITY TO DO THAT. SO WHETHER OR NOT SOMEONE MAKES AN APPLICATION THERE FOR SOMETHING YOU LIKE OR DON'T LIKE, YEAH, IS NOT IN OUR CONTROL. AND HOW THAT IS HANDLED AT THAT TIME. I ALSO DON'T WANT TO GUESS. YEAH, OKAY. BECAUSE IT'S NOT REALLY UP TO US TO GUESS THAT WHAT WE ARE HERE TO DETERMINE TONIGHT IS AN ORDINANCE THAT PERMITS REGULAR DATA CENTERS IN TWO ZONES, AS IT ALWAYS HAVE, BUT JUST USING THE NAME COMPUTATION CENTER IS OKAY, RIGHT? IS CONSISTENT WITH THE MASTER PLAN AND IS AN OVERALL PROHIBITION ON HYPERSCALE IN EVERY ZONE THAT WE CAN CONTROL, CONSISTENT WITH THE MASTER PLAN. OKAY, THAT WE CAN DO. AND THAT'S WHAT OUR CHARGE IS. WHAT HAPPENS WITH REGARD TO A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN IS NOT IN FRONT OF US. AND
[00:20:01]
TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I'M NOT GOING TO GUESS. CAN A CONCERN ABOUT THAT BE BROUGHT UP AT A TOWN COUNCIL MEETING? OH, I THINK IT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE I HONESTLY, I THOUGHT THIS ORDINANCE WAS COMPLETELY DEALING WITH CROSSROADS. AND TO HEAR THAT IT'S NOT AT ALL JUST REAFFIRMS MY BELIEF THAT LIKE, WE COULD BE IN A LOT OF TROUBLE. CROSSROADS WILL BE. WHAT IT IS CONSISTENT WITH WHATEVER FINAL OR AMENDED OR EXISTING REDEVELOPMENT PLAN ALLOWS. OKAY, THAT WILL BE NO MATTER WHAT WE DO TONIGHT. OKAY. THAT PLAN IS TIED TO AN EXTENSIVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING SETTLEMENT. RIGHT? RIGHT. WE DON'T WANT TO IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, IT MIGHT BE VERY DIFFICULT TO JUST TAKE THINGS OFF THE TABLE THAT HAVE BEEN IN A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT FOR SEVERAL YEARS. BUT IF IT'S I'M SURE IT COULD GO AHEAD. NO, NO, I CAN INTERRUPT YOU. NO, NO, NO.YOU CONTINUE. I'LL ASK MIKE. I'LL ASK MY QUESTION. I WOULD JUST SAY IN RESPONSE, LIKE, I'M SURE IT COULD BE, BUT I'M SURE IF IF THE PUBLIC WERE TO WEIGH IN ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS VERSUS NOISE, AIR, WATER POLLUTION, LIKE I THINK, NO, I UNDERSTAND, I'M JUST SAYING LIKE, IF WE'RE SAYING WE'RE AFRAID OF CHANGING THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THAT'S EVER UP FOR DISCUSSION, I THINK IT'S, IT WOULD BE FAIR FOR THE PUBLIC TO SAY, IS THE PUBLIC OPEN TO THAT, YOU KNOW, BEING CHANGED, UNFORTUNATELY, I GUESS IT'S A LEGAL SETTLEMENT. SO THIS IS ALL LEGAL, LEGAL ISSUES. I UNDERSTAND BASED ON THE STATE PARADIGMS AND THE STATE RUBRIC AND REQUIREMENTS, AS WELL AS THE VESTED RIGHTS THAT THE THAT THE OWNER HAS BY VIRTUE OF THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT. RIGHT, DOESN'T REALLY HINGE UPON NECESSARILY WHAT WE WANT. RIGHT.
THAT'S TRUE. SO I'M TRYING TO BE CLEAR, WITHOUT BSING ANYONE, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT. AND BY THE WAY, THAT HAS PERMITTED DATA CENTERS AND ALWAYS HAS AND HAS FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS. RIGHT. NO ONE'S COME IN APPLIED FOR ONE YET, RIGHT. SO NOBODY'S EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT IT. RIGHT. AND IT WAS PART OF A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND PART OF A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. AND IT'S THE LAW. NOW YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT IT BECAUSE YOU SEE THIS. BUT THE TRUTH IS THIS THING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT THING. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING. IF I COULD ASK ONE MORE QUESTION ON THAT TOPIC, THE ISSUE I'VE JUST READ THIS THAT HYPOTHETICALLY, SOMEONE COULD APPLY FOR A WAREHOUSE, BUT IF IT'S NOT DEFINED PROPERLY, THE WAREHOUSE COULD ACTUALLY BECOME A DATA CENTER OR BE A DATA CENTER. YES. ABOUT IT. IS THAT DEFINED SOMEWHERE LIKE WE ALLOW IT? WE ALLOW IT TO BE CALLED A WAREHOUSE, BUT ACTUALLY BE A DATA CENTER. AND WHERE AT CROSSROADS IN CROSSROADS, WE SPECIFICALLY ALLOW A DATA CENTER. NO, NO, NO, I KNOW, BUT I'M SAYING IF THEY SAY IT'S GOING TO BE A WAREHOUSE AND THE PUBLIC BELIEVES IT'S A WAREHOUSE, WHY WOULD THEY? AND THEN THEY JUST CONVERT IT. WHY WOULD THEY HAVE TO ENGAGE IN SUBTERFUGE? IT'S A PERMITTED USE. YEAH. THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO. THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO COME OUT WITH A NEW APPLICATION. THEY, THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD.
OH, OKAY. THEY WOULD HAVE TO ANNOUNCE THAT IT IS A QUESTION. YES. SORRY. THIS QUESTION IS, IS THERE A IS THERE A ABILITY TO SAY, I'M BUILDING A WAREHOUSE AND THEN LATER ON. NO, NO, NO, I CONVERTED IT TO A DATA CENTER, AS IF SUBTERFUGE WERE NECESSARY. GOT IT.
SUBTERFUGE IS NOT NECESSARY BECAUSE AS WE'VE MADE CLEAR, THE ORDINANCE PERMITS IT, RIGHT? NOBODY'S GOT A FIB. NOBODY'S GOT TO SNEAK ANYTHING. IT'S ALLOWED. OKAY. GOT IT? YES.
OKAY. ONE LAST QUESTION ABOUT THE ACTUAL ORDINANCE. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT KNOWING ALL THE DETAILS, BUT WHAT IN TERMS OF JUST HELPING US HAVE OUR HEARING. WE JUST HAVE YOU'RE ASKING SOME QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS WITH. I UNDERSTAND THAT AND MAYBE THIS ISN'T WORKING EITHER AS A QUESTION, BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST SAYING 50 AND OVER. DOES ANYTHING ACTUALLY IN THE TOWN, AS IT STANDS NOW, REGULATE THE EQUIPMENT, THE WATER USAGE, THE ELECTRICITY USAGE FOR ANYTHING UNDER 50? NO IT DOESN'T. SO IF YOU HAD A 49 MEGAWATT DATA CENTER THAT USES DIESEL GENERATORS, IT WOULD BE ALLOWED. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT. SO I THINK THAT THE TOWN'S CHAPTER 24 DOES HAVE A SET OF PERFORMANCE STANDARDS THAT WOULD APPLY TO ANY TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO NECESSARILY APPLY TO LIKE A RESIDENTIAL HOUSE NECESSARILY, BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT GLARE HEAT EMISSIONS, BUT THEY ARE STANDARDS THAT APPLY TO ALL DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE TOWN. SO NOISE FUMES.
EXACTLY. VIBRATION I HAVE TO CHECK ON. YEAH, NOISE FOR SURE. I DON'T KNOW, I'M WITH VIBRATION, BUT THERE ARE A SET OF STANDARDS THAT APPLY TO ANY SORT OF DEVELOPMENT IN TOWN.
[00:25:03]
AND THOSE HAVE BEEN ON THE BOOKS, YOU KNOW, SINCE THE CODE, PROBABLY IN TWO ZONES UNDER 50 IS PERMITTED, RIGHT? IF IF SOMEONE MADE AN APPLICATION FOR ONE, THE BOARD WOULD HANDLE THAT APPLICATION LIKE IT HANDLES EVERY OTHER DEVELOPMENT. RIGHT? WELL, WE JUST DON'T KNOW IS, IS WHETHER OR NOT THE CURRENT REGULATIONS THAT ARE IN CODE ABOUT NOISE POLLUTION, ALL THOSE THINGS, IF THAT LINES UP WITH WHAT DATA CENTERS COULD PRODUCE, RIGHT? LIKE MAYBE IT'S SUFFICIENT. I WOULD IMAGINE THAT OUR STUDY, RIGHT WON'T BE LIMITED TO HYPERSCALE, OKAY.AND MAY NOT BE LIMITED TO THE EXACT LINE OF 50. BUT THAT THAT STUDY MAY SHED SOME LIGHT THAT HAS PURPOSE ACROSS THE BOARD, RIGHT? THAT HAS RELEVANCE ACROSS THE BOARD, EXCEPT UP UNTIL THAT STUDY IS COMPLETED, PEOPLE CAN STILL APPLY TO DO A 49 WATT MEGAWATT DATA CENTER AND IT COULD BE APPROVED. YEAH, IT WILL BE WHAT IT WILL BE. I CAN'T IF I'M JUST CLARIFYING THEY COULD STILL DO THAT. YEAH, YEAH, WE'RE GOING TO WAKE UP TOMORROW AND IT'LL BE 12 HOURS LATER. YES. TEMPUS FUGIT, MY FRIEND. TEMPUS FUGIT. RIGHT. OKAY. IN THE TWO PERMITTED ZONES. CORRECT. IN THE TWO PERMITTED ZONES. YES. I MEAN, JUST HYPOTHETICALLY. AND THE TOWN WOULD HAVE TO ACCEPT IT IF IT'S 49 OR LESS. RIGHT. WELL, OR SUBJECT TO WHATEVER THE APPLICATION IS. BUT YEAH, IT WOULD BE AN APPLICATION. YEAH. DO YOU UNDERSTAND AS WELL THAT OUR CONJECTURE ON THE RECORD ABOUT A SUBJECT THAT HAS SOME CONCERN, DOESN'T LEAD ME TO WANT TO PROVIDE A LOT OF LEGAL ADVICE THAT SOMEONE MAY THROW BACK IN OUR FACE LATER. OKAY.
YES. OKAY. I'M GIVING YOU THE BROADEST SENSE I CAN. IT'S PERMITTED IN TWO ZONES. IF SOMEONE COMES IN TOMORROW AND APPLIES FOR 48, THERE'LL BE SOME STANDARD THAT APPLIES. AND THE BOARD WILL CONSIDER THAT APPLICATION, WHETHER THEY CAN TURN IT DOWN OR NOT. I HAVE NO IDEA. OKAY. IF IT'S CERTAINLY PERMITTED IN IN AN UNKNOWN SIZE AT CROSSROADS BASED ON A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN, IF THAT WERE TO COME IN TOMORROW AS AN APPLICATION, THIS BOARD WOULD CONSIDER IT AND WOULD APPLY THE BEST POSSIBLE LAW IT COULD. I CANNOT TELL YOU WHAT THE DYNAMIC CHANGES THAT MIGHT OCCUR, NOR WOULD I CARE TO PROVIDE ALL OF THE LEGAL ADVICE I POSSIBLY COULD ON A VIDEO TAPE. RIGHT? OKAY. OKAY. SO THIS ORDINANCE IS AN ORDINANCE WHOSE PRIMARY PURPOSE IS PROHIBITION OF THE BIG ONES, RIGHT? THAT THOSE TWO ZONES, I WOULD THINK MOST EVERYBODY THINKS THAT'S A GOOD THING. RIGHT? OKAY. YOU WANT US TO PASS IT OR NOT? YES. I MEAN, LET ME MIND BETWEEN 49 AND 50 IS LISTEN, OKAY? YOU CAN DRINK WHEN YOU'RE 21, BUT 20.75 IS CLOSE AND 20 IF AND IF YOU'RE REAL MATURE, MAYBE IT SEEMS OKAY. AND IF YOU'RE 21 AND THREE MONTHS AND YOU'RE AN IDIOT, MAYBE IT'S NOT, I DON'T KNOW, BUT LINES GET DRAWN ALL THE TIME, RIGHT? OKAY, SO THAT'S WHAT THIS DOES, RIGHT? LET ME INTERRUPT FOR JUST A MINUTE. THERE'S ANOTHER LAYER HERE THAT ENTERS INTO THIS. THE UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE CLASSIFIES WAREHOUSE DIFFERENTLY THAN A DATA CENTER.
OKAY. YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE A VERY GOOD, VERY STRONG CODE ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT THAT WILL ENFORCE THE CODES. AND THERE'S A NATIONAL CODE, NATIONAL BUILDING CODE, NATIONAL ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING CODE. ALL OF THOSE CODES WILL BE STRICTLY STRONGLY ENFORCED BECAUSE OF THE QUALITY OF YOUR DEPARTMENT. BUT THERE ARE DIFFERENT USES AND THEY'RE DEALT WITH IN DIFFERENT WAYS. OKAY, SO ZONING ASIDE, I DON'T WHATEVER, WHATEVER THEY APPLY FOR WHERE THEY APPLY FOR A WAREHOUSE IN THE OP 200 ZONE, OR THEY APPLY FOR A DATA CENTER AS A PERMITTED USE. THOSE ARE THE CRITERIA HAVE TO BE ADHERED TO AS WELL. AND AGAIN, YOU YOU HAPPEN TO BE VERY FORTUNATE. YOU HAVE A VERY GOOD BUILDING DEPARTMENT AND THEY'RE VERY STRICT, WHICH IS WHAT EXACTLY THEY SHOULD BE DOING. AND THEY ENFORCE THE CODES. THEY DON'T MAKE IT UP, BUT THEY ENFORCE THE CODES. SO THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER LEVEL. OKAY. A LAYER
[00:30:04]
THAT'S ENTERED INTO THIS WHOLE PROCESS AND ALSO TO ALL THE BULK STANDARDS HAVE TO BE ADHERED TO, AS WELL AS ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS. AND WE STILL HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING FROM THE HIGHLANDS TO WEIGH IN ON THAT, WHICH THAT THAT'S EVEN MORE IMPORTANT. SO BY ITSELF MAY HAVE A LOT OF IMPLICATIONS. AND WE CAN'T GAME THEM FORWARD FROM TODAY, RIGHT? THIS IS WHAT'S ON FRONT OF US TODAY. YOU NOW KNOW WHAT WE ALL KNOW. IT IS WHAT IT IS. YEP. IT'S A STARTING POINT. YEAH. CAN WE START NOW? OKAY. TO CONCLUDE, THE PUBLIC PORTION AND ACTUALLY UNDERTAKE OUR HEARING ON THIS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AWESOME. THANK YOU, MR. PORTER.ANYONE ELSE, SIR? OKAY. SEEING NO ONE, ANY OTHER MEMBERS FROM THE PUBLIC? CAN I GET A MOTION? MOTION TO CLOSE PUBLIC. MOTION TO CLOSE. SECOND. GEORGE. SECOND BY. SECOND BY. MEG. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. OKAY. THERE'S NO PUBLIC HEARING TONIGHT. NEXT MATTER OF
[VII. WORK SESSION]
BUSINESS IS THE WORK SESSION. AND THIS IS THE MASTER PLAN CONSISTENCY REVIEW OF ORDINANCE NUMBER 2105. SO WE'VE HAD THESE BEFORE. AND AS MARK JUST EXPLAINED YOU KNOW IT'S NOT A DEBATE TONIGHT AS TO WHETHER WE LIKE THIS ORDINANCE OR DISLIKE IT. IT'S A IT'S A, YOU KNOW, DISCUSSION TONIGHT. AND WE'LL HEAR FROM NICK AS TO WHETHER THIS ORDINANCE. ORDINANCE IS CONSISTENT, INCONSISTENT OR NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THE MASTER PLAN LIKE WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST. WE CAN MAKE COMMENTS AND SEND THEM BACK ALONG TO TO THE TOWNSHIP, BUT THAT'S THE FUNCTION OF TONIGHT. SO I'M GOING TO PASS THE MIC OVER TO NICK AND GIVE US SOME INFORMATION. WELL, I THINK WE COVERED IT ALL. SO LET'S ALL GO HOME. YEAH. SO ANYWAY, THE ORDINANCE IS THREE DIFFERENT PARTS. THE FIRST PART JUST SETS SOME DEFINITION TO WHAT CONSTITUTES A DATA CENTER, BECAUSE AS WAS DISCUSSED, THERE IS A PROVISION THAT HAS BEEN IN THE CODE FOR QUITE A WHILE. IT'S AN ALL ENCOMPASSING ONE THAT IS LIKE RESEARCH LABORATORIES, COMPUTATION CENTERS, SOME YADA, YADA, YADA, IN LIKE ONE LONG RUN ON SENTENCE. AND SO THAT HAS BEEN ON THE BOOKS. AND AS IS STATED IN THE INTRODUCTION TO THIS ORDINANCE, THE TOWN IS AWARE THAT THERE ARE DATA CENTERS THAT OPERATE IN TOWN. AND SO THIS HELPS TO COVER LIKE WHAT EXISTS THAT HAS CONTINUED TO OPERATE. SO YOU HAVE THE DEFINITIONS FOR DATA CENTER AND A HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER. THEN THERE IS THE NEXT SECTION, WHICH IS IT SETS FORTH THAT HYPERSCALE IS BANNED IN TOWN, SUBJECT TO LIKE FOR THE REASONS LISTED IN THE CODE. AND AGAIN, MORE DEFINITIONS RELATING TO WHAT CONSTITUTES A HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER AND WHAT THINGS THAT ARE BEING LOOKED AT HERE IN TERMS OF ELECTRICAL LOAD AGGREGATION. AND THAT'S BASICALLY IT WITH THOSE FIRST TWO PARTS, IT IS ACKNOWLEDGING THOSE TWO, THE COMPUTATION CENTERS IN THE OP AND THE ORP 200. AND IT IS SETTING FORTH A PROHIBITION ON HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS. SO WITH THAT PART, THE ORDINANCE COMPONENT TO THAT, I WOULD SAY, FIRST OFF, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING WE THAT ENTERED THE DISCOURSE WHEN WE WERE REEXAMINING THE MASTER PLAN IN 2020, MUCH LESS WHEN THE MASTER PLAN WAS WRITTEN IN 2013. AT THE TIME IT WAS THOUGHT OF, IT WAS PROBABLY WHAT YOU WOULD ASSOCIATE WITH LIKE A BELL LABORATORIES OR AN IBM. YOU'RE NOT THE HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS THAT YOU LIKE THAT SEE IN THE NEWS ON ALMOST A DAILY BASIS. AND SO I WOULD SAY THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THE MASTER PLAN. OKAY. QUICK QUESTION FOR WHEN WE'RE REFERRING TO THE MASTER PLAN, BECAUSE WE DID, WE EXAMINE THE MASTER PLAN IN 2025 TO 2026, AND WE AFFIRMED IT IN FEBRUARY 12TH OF 2026. EXCUSE ME. THAT'S NOT LISTED IN THIS. DO WE NEED TO MENTION THAT THAT WE TOOK THOSE STEPS AS WELL, THAT WE HAD THAT REEXAMINATION THERE? I BELIEVE THAT THOSE OTHER REEXAMINATIONS AND THERE WERE A HANDFUL SINCE THE 2020, I BELIEVE MOST OF THOSE RELATED TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING SPECIFIC PROJECTS. AND THERE WAS NO DISCUSSION ON DATA CENTERS. I BELIEVE I WENT THROUGH ALL OF THEM WHEN I WAS PREPARING FOR THIS, AND THERE WAS NOTHING[00:35:05]
THAT RELATED TO DATA CENTERS NECESSARILY. IT WAS ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THIS SITE THAT'S GOING TO BE A COMPLIANCE MECHANISM FOR THE FAIR SHARE PLAN OR THIS SITE. AND SO I OVERLAY IN THE INDUSTRY PARK THINGS. THAT'S WHAT I WAS CONCERNED. I BELIEVE THAT WAS RELATED MORE TOWARDS THE OUTDOOR STORAGE. OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T MISS THAT IN OUR RIGHT. YOU RAISE A GOOD POINT. AND I THINK NICK IS CORRECT. IN THAT PERIOD, THERE WERE SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHERE RATHER THAN ZONING A SPECIFIC PIECE OF PROPERTY WHICH HAD CERTAIN RIGOROUS NOTICE REQUIREMENTS, ETC. THAT WE INSTEAD CHOSE TO DO A REEXAMINATION OR EVEN A PARTIAL REEXAMINATION, OR SOME OF THEM HAVE VERY LONG TITLES.THE 2026 REEXAMINATION OF THE 2020 SOMETHING, SO THAT THOSE WERE TREATED AS REEXAMINATIONS, BUT THEY WERE REEXAMINATIONS OF SMALL PORTIONS OF IT. RIGHT. AND I THINK THAT WAS MOSTLY WHY WE WERE USING THAT WORD. BUT I DON'T VIEW IT AS LIKE THE EVERY TEN YEARS REEXAMINATION, WHICH BUSINESS OVERLAYS THAT WE DID ACROSS THAT FRANKLIN LAKES DEVELOPMENT IS GOING IN ON A WITKOFF AND THE INDUSTRIAL AREAS, BECAUSE THERE'S ENOUGH ACREAGE IN SOME OF THOSE THAT WE COULD START TO BUMP UP AGAINST THIS HYPERSCALE MATTER. I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE HAVING THAT IN OUR IN OUR CONVERSATION AND OUR THOUGHTS. YEAH. AS FAR AS I'M AWARE FROM REVIEWING THOSE MOST RECENT REEXAMINATIONS, I WAS INVOLVED WITH THE 2020 PREPARATION, WHICH THAT WAS AS THE TOWN WAS OVERHAULING CHAPTER 24, WE CONDUCTED A REEXAMINATION TO GO ALONG WITH THAT. THE MORE RECENT ONES, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANYTHING RELATING TO DATA CENTERS. THE ONLY OTHER REFERENCE I DO REMEMBER WAS WITH THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CROSSROADS REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. THANK YOU. DO WE, THE BOARD, HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OF NICK? WELL, I HAVE TO SAY. OKAY. MY QUESTION IS UNDER SECTION TWO DATA CENTER HYPERSCALE SECTION TWO, HYPERSCALE CENTERS, HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS ARE PROHIBITED USE IN ALL ZONE DISTRICTS. WE DON'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE CROSSROADS. WHAT ZONE IS THE CROSSROADS IN, IF YOU DON'T MIND CROSSROADS, I HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK WITH THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN TO SEE IF IT SUPERSEDED THE UNDERLYING ZONING. OKAY, BECAUSE WITH UNDER REDEVELOPMENT PLAN, YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO EITHER PROVIDE IT AS AN OVERLAY OR SUPERSEDE WHAT'S UNDERLYING.
AND SO CROSSROADS AT THE TIME THERE WAS. SO THAT'S THE THAT'S THE SO IT'S, IT'S THIS OVERLAY THING THAT CHANGES THE ZONING. I WOULD HAVE TO, I WOULD HAVE TO CHECK SPECIFICALLY WITH CROSSROADS. I KNOW THERE WAS AN UNDERLYING ZONE, BUT AGAIN, THERE WAS THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. AND THEN THERE WAS AT LEAST 1 OR 2 OTHER AMENDMENTS TO THAT REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. AND OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I DO NOT KNOW IF IT SUPERSEDED THE UNDERLYING ZONING TO CREATE ITS OWN ZONE. OKAY, SO EITHER WAY THOUGH, IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE SPELLED OUT. CORRECT. OKAY, THAT'S ALL I'M ASKING. REGULAR ZONE. RIGHT? IT'S A REDEVELOPMENT. GOT IT. OKAY.
THAT'S ALL THAT WAS MY QUESTION. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I THINK SO ANY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO MAKE TO THE COUNCIL IN CONNECTION WITH OUR REVIEW? SO I THINK ONE THING THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT, AND I GUESS WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS AGAIN, BUT THE ABILITY TO MAKE IN AREAS WHERE THIS MIGHT BE INAPPROPRIATE, IF THERE ARE ANY, AS IT RELATES TO PUTTING UP ABUTTING A RESIDENTIAL ZONE, DEEPER BUFFERS, MORE STRICT, MORE STRICT BULK REQUIREMENTS ON THOSE, BECAUSE IT WOULD BE ABUTTING A RESIDENTIAL ZONE. AND THAT WAS MY THINKING ABOUT THOSE OTHER PROPERTIES BECAUSE THEY THEY ARE SORT OF IN EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE INDUSTRIAL, THERE ARE SORT OF IN NEIGHBORHOOD AREAS. SO THAT'S WHAT I WANTED. AND ALSO, YEAH, IT DOESN'T FALL INTO IT. CROSSROADS. SO I KNOW I HAVE TO KEEP THAT SEPARATE IN MY HEAD, BUT THERE IS A NEIGHBORHOOD BACK THERE. SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN KEEP THE BULK REQUIREMENTS STRICTER WHEN WE COME ACROSS THAT. SO YEAH. AND THEY, IT LOOKS LIKE THE STUDY WILL ADDRESS THAT TRACE. IF YOU LOOK AT THREE B, IT SAYS APPROPRIATE LOT AREA COVERAGE, HEIGHT SETBACK BUFFER AND SCREENING STANDARDS. WHERE IS THE OP 200 ZONE AND THE ORP 200. NICK I'M
[00:40:01]
PULLING UP THE ZONING MAP AS WE SPEAK. I JUST HAD IT. SO WHILE NICK IS LOOKING AT THAT, THE ONLY OTHER RECOMMENDATION WE MIGHT WANT TO WANT TO PUT IT ON THE TV. IF WE, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED, MARK, ABOUT THE IMPACT OF 20MW, 30MW. MY, MY NOTE THERE SAYS 2024 WAS PERHAPS A COMMENT IS, IS, IS 50MW THE CORRECT NUMBER? RIGHT. JUST BECAUSE SECTION THREE, THEY LAY OUT THE DIFFERENT THINGS OF THE REPORT THAT THEY'RE HOPING TO SEE. SO OKAY, SO WE'LL POINT THAT OUT TO YOUR POINT. I JUST WANT TO REITERATE FROM THE COUNCIL MEETING THE REASON THEY CHOSE KIND OF 50 OTHER THAN WE NEED ALIGN SOMEWHERE, IS THAT WE DON'T WANT TO PUSH OUT OUR EXISTING DATA CENTERS, RIGHT? IF THEY WANT TO EXPAND A LITTLE BIT, WE DON'T WANT TO KNOCK THEM OUT BECAUSE THEY'RE HITTING A LOWER NUMBER. SURE. OH, OKAY. SO I THINK THEY SAID NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG. IT'S 32 OR 34. IF THEY WANTED TO EXPAND A LITTLE BIT AND THEY HIT 40. WELL, RIGHT NOW I THINK THEY'RE AT 28 AND IT'S I APOLOGIZE, I MIGHT GO TO 32 OR 34 WHEN THEY'RE FINISHED WITH THEIR RENOVATION BECAUSE THEY ARE EXPANDING. YEAH, WE APPROVE THEM FOR THE WE DON'T WANT TO KNOCK THEM OUT. SO THEY WENT A LITTLE BIT HIGHER SO WE CAN ACCOMMODATE WHO'S HERE. YEAH. IS THERE ROOM FOR MORE AT THAT SITE? AT LEAST ONE OF THEM IS THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, RIGHT? YEAH. AND IT'S THE HIGHEST RATABLE SO WE DON'T WANT THEM. SO THAT'S TWO OF THEM THAT WE WE KNOW ARE IN THOSE ZONES. THAT. RIGHT. AND THE BIG REASON THAT, YOU KNOW, COMPANIES SUCH AS THAT DID COME HERE IN THE PAST WAS BECAUSE AT ONE POINT IN TIME WE HAD AN AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURING PLANT.SO WE HAD THE POWER. YEAH. AND WE HAD THE ABILITY AND WE HAD THE WATER. AND THEN AT LEAST WITH WHAT'S THERE NOW IS MUCH CLEANER THAN WHEN THE FORD PLANT WAS THERE. RIGHT. AND, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK EVERYONE'S GOT TO REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A DEFINITIVE STARTING POINT, RIGHT? EMERGING TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING. NEXT WEEK, SOMETHING COULD CHANGE.
SO, YOU KNOW, RATHER THAN SIT HERE ON OUR HANDS, WE'RE TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF THIS, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO GET SO FAR AHEAD THAT WE'RE GOING TO SHOOT OURSELVES IN THE FEET. RIGHT.
OKAY. AND AND JUST SO THE BOARD'S AWARE, THE HIGHLANDS COMMISSION IS ALSO DOING THEIR OWN STUDY AS WELL. SO WE'RE YOU KNOW, AS WE FOUND OUT WITH OUR PIGGYBACK ON, AS WE FOUND OUT WITH OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AGREEMENT, THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE, YOU KNOW, OR HAVE MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT. SO PERHAPS THEY'LL BE ABLE TO HELP OUT IN THIS INSTANCE. WE ALSO HAVE OUR WELLHEAD PROTECTION ACT, WHICH HAS TO BE ABIDED BY. YEAH. SO AND THAT PERTAINS VERY MUCH TO THE PROPERTY OVER AT THE CROSSROADS. YEAH. 100%. SO OKAY, SO TO ANSWER THE QUESTION ABOUT THE ZONING MAP, ORP 200, THAT'S THE MACARTHUR BOULEVARD AREA FOR THE MOST PART. AND THEN OP 200 LOOKS LIKE THAT'S JUST LIMITED TO THE LAND ROVER SITE. OKAY.
CROSSROADS, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING USED TO BE ORP 200 OR OP 200. YEAH, IT IS THE MUD MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT TWO ZONE. AND THEN THAT'S WHAT WE CHANGED IT TO. RIGHT. AND THEN THERE'S THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN, WHICH I CAN CONFIRM NOW BASED ON THIS IS THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT WAS AMENDED AS OF HOLD ON. THIS IS AMENDMENT ONE AS OF 2024. THAT ONE IS AN OVERLAY TO THE MUD ZONE. OKAY. MUD PERMITS DATA CENTERS. MUD DOES NOT I DON'T THINK. NO. BUT THE OVER THE PRIOR ZONE DID. NO. THE THE AMENDMENT ONE CROSSROADS REDEVELOPMENT PLAN OVERLAY PERMITS DATA CENTERS. RIGHT. OKAY. MUD I DON'T BELIEVE DOES. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY. DO WE HAVE A POSITION ON WHETHER ORDINANCE TWO 105. WE'RE JUST GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT. WE'RE JUST GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE DEFINITIONS. WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET INTO THE SECTION THREE. SORRY. WE'RE NOT GOING TO CREATE A COMMITTEE. IS THERE MORE TO TALK? OH, I WASN'T TALKING ABOUT THAT ONLY BECAUSE THAT WASN'T NECESSARILY PART OF THE ORDINANCE. LIKE, OKAY, SO WE'RE JUST SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SECTION THREE. SORRY. YES, I'M JUST ASKING. SO WE SO NICK TALKED ABOUT THE SECTION ONE.
AND THEN THERE'S SECTION THREE AGGREGATION AND TOTAL ELECTRIC LOAD. LIKE, DID WE TALK ABOUT THAT? WELL, I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE STUDY IS GOING TO BE FOR. NO SECTION TWO IS YEAH. IT'S JUST THE DEFINITIONS. YEAH. IT'S IT SETS FORTH THAT HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS ARE PROHIBITED USE IN ALL ZONES. AND THEN IT HAS THE PURPOSE AND LIMITATIONS OF WHY THEY'RE BEING PROHIBITED. AND THERE'S SOME DEFINITIONS, PRESUMABLY, THAT HELP TO AID THIS. THE PURPOSE THERE. AND THEN SECTION THREE, IS IT REALLY ALMOST SECTION THREE ALMOST COULD HAVE JUST BEEN A LETTER TO US. OKAY. AND THAT'S WHY I WASN'T GOING TO GO INTO THAT. SO THAT SO
[00:45:05]
IT'S KIND OF WE'RE GOING TO PUT THE WE'RE GOING TO SEPARATE THAT. OKAY, SO SECTION THREE, IF I UNDERSTOOD CORRECTLY, MIKE, ARE WE GETTING WE'RE GOING TO GET PROPOSALS, I GUESS, OR HAVE A PATH FORWARD. I HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THAT. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOMEBODY THAT LOOKS AT THE THE BROAD SCOPE OF DATA CENTERS AND GIVES A DETAILED REPORT ON WHAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT, WHAT WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT, WHAT WE NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ALSO OUR WATER AND SEWER ENGINEERS INVOLVED IN IT. GOT IT. I'LL BE INVOLVED IN IT. I IMAGINE WE'LL PROBABLY SET UP A SUBCOMMITTEE WITH THE PLANNING BOARD AND JUST REALLY HASH IT OUT. OKAY, SO SO NO ACTION ON THAT. AGAIN, THAT THAT'S NOT REALLY A QUESTION. DO WE HAVE TO APPROVE THAT EXPERT? LIKE, IS THAT, DOES THAT COME THROUGH? OH, YEAH. YEAH. OKAY. SO APPROVED THE FUNDING FOR IT FIRST. RIGHT? SO ONCE THAT COMES BACK AND WE, WE DID DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, CREATING A SUB SUBCOMMITTEE FROM THE PLANNING BOARD TO, TO LOOK AT THIS. SO WE'LL AND WE'LL DISCUSS THAT AT A LATER DATE, PROBABLY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, PROBABLY NOT THIS YEAR, BUT THE BEGINNING OF NEXT YEAR. SECTION THREE HAS NO MASTER PLAN IMPACT. RIGHT, RIGHT. ASSIGNING US A DUTY, CHARGING US TO UNDERTAKE SOMETHING. OKAY. AND A MASTER PLAN IMPACT PART IS REALLY SECTIONS ONE AND TWO. OKAY. AND I'M PRETTY COMFORTABLE THAT I CAN WRITE A LETTER OR MARY JO, HOWEVER, YOU AND I DO THIS, AND WE'VE DONE IT A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS ALONG THE WAY AND THEN DETERMINE IF WE WANT TO FOLLOW THAT LETTER UP WITH A RESOLUTION AT THE NEXT MEETING. BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE GOVERNING BODY HAS THIS ON FOR CONSIDERATION ON THE 26TH. SO I'D LIKE TO GET THEM SOMETHING ALMOST TOMORROW IF I COULD.THAT AT LEAST GIVES THEM THE BOARD'S POSITION ON. OKAY. THE TESTIMONY WE HEARD FROM NICK IS THAT ORDINANCE 2105 IS NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THE MASTER PLAN. DO WE HAVE A MOTION EITHER MOTION TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL. OKAY. THE MOTION WAS MADE. OKAY, GARY. AND SECOND BY ED. YES, SURE. OKAY. TRACY. I'M SORRY. GARY AND TRACY. OKAY. ROLL CALL PLEASE. AND JUST SO IT WAS CLEAR, GARY, THE MOTION IS THAT THE THAT ORDINANCE 2105 IS NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THE MASTER MASTER PLAN. OKAY. VERY GOOD. AND WE'RE GOING TO ADD IN WHATEVER COMMENTS I LIKE ONES THAT WE HAVE. THERE'S THERE'S 1 OR 2 THAT I HAVE, BUT I MAY THERE ARE A COUPLE NOTATIONS OR MAYBE EVEN. AS I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO AN EXPRESSION, TRANSFER THIS INTO WHATEVER YOU DEEM NECESSARY. YEP. BUT ABSOLUTELY, FUNDAMENTALLY THE QUESTION IS, IS 50 THE RIGHT LINE? CORRECT. AND MAYBE IT IS, MAYBE IT ISN'T, BUT WE'RE NOT REALLY EQUIPPED TO COME UP WITH THAT, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. ROLL CALL, MR. ERVIN. YES, YES. MR. JANKOWSKI. YES, MISS MICELI.
YES. MR. MILLER. YES. MR. O'LEARY. YES. MR. MONTROY. YES. THANK YOU. OKAY. OLD BUSINESS.
NONE. COMMITTEE REPORTS. NONE. MR. CHAIRMAN, ONE DAY WE WILL HAVE ONE MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT.
MOTION. SECOND. SECOND BY VICKY. ALL IN FAVOR? SAY AYE. AYE. THANKS FOR COMING,
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.