Data Center Projects Face Lawsuits in Trenton and Stokes County
Developers and environmental groups filed separate lawsuits over data center projects in New Jersey and North Carolina following local regulatory disputes.
Two separate legal battles have emerged over the development of large-scale data centers in the United States. In New Jersey, Prologis filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Trenton to prevent a voter-approved ban from halting its construction of a 1 million square foot facility. Approximately 80% of Trenton voters approved a charter amendment on November 3 prohibiting data centers larger than 25 megawatts. Prologis, which has already invested over $42 million, argues the ban is unconstitutional and cannot be applied retroactively since the city issued zoning certificates and building permits months before the election.
Meanwhile, in North Carolina, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the Stokes County Board of Commissioners to overturn the rezoning of 1,800 acres in Walnut Cove for a project known as Project Delta. The lawsuit alleges that commissioners ignored long-term development plans and relied on inaccurate, AI-generated reports to justify a predetermined decision. The project has seen a volatile approval process, with the board approving the site in January, reversing that decision in April, and finally approving a second application from Engineered Land Solutions in September.
