Independent local reporting, published by Best Is Me LLC
460–520 Main Avenue, Wallington, New Jersey
Wallington data center: the public record behind Ordinance 21
Ordinance 21 would allow data centers on 33 acres of Main Avenue. Here is what is happening, in plain language, and why it matters.
The land. The former Farmland Dairy property at 460–520 Main Avenue covers 33.46 acres of Wallington. For years, the public plans for this land were about warehouses. The Mayor has publicly described the current plan as four warehouses.
The new rules. In August 2026 the Borough introduced Ordinance 21, which rewrites the rules for what can be built on the property. It expressly allows data centers, along with the heavy equipment that comes with them: transformers and substations, generators, battery systems, cooling equipment and a communications tower up to 150 feet tall. The ordinance says the new plan was prepared “at the direction of the Mayor and Council.”
So the four buildings described as warehouses could legally become data centers.
The meetings. Residents packed the Planning Board meeting on September 15. Two days later, on September 17, they came back for the public hearing on Ordinance 21 that the Borough had advertised. That hearing did not take place. Council does not need a Planning Board recommendation to reject Ordinance 21, yet the ordinance is still unresolved.
Below, each step is laid out in order, with links to the official records so you can check everything yourself.
- Cooling equipment
- Generators and batteries
- Transformers and substation
- Tower up to 150 ft
Illustration. Building sizes and positions are not taken from a site plan.
Opinion
Dr. Simon Sikorski’s position
Wallington is in crisis mode.
What should happen now:
Hold a special meeting
So Ordinance 21 is taken up in public, with residents in the room.
Reject Ordinance 21
Council can do this without a Planning Board recommendation.
Prevent data center use
Through clear Borough rules, on this property and in the future.
A working microphone and live streaming
At every public meeting, for transparency.
How it unfolded
All dates are 2026 unless noted. Each step links to its part of the page.
- 2023 and 2024Plans center on warehouses
- Feb. 26Still a warehouse complex
- 133 days laterJuly 9County application already in review
- 26 daysAug. 4Data center rules written
- 9 daysAug. 13Ordinance 21 introduced
- 33 daysSept. 15Planning Board meeting
- 2 daysSept. 17Advertised hearing does not happen
- NowOrdinance 21 still unresolved
2023 to July 2026
Before August: a warehouse plan
For years, the public story for this property was warehouses. Meanwhile, the project was already well into engineering and county review.
The property
- Property
- Former Farmland Dairy site
- Address
- 460–520 Main Avenue
- Size
- 33.46 acres
- Ordinance
- Ordinance 2026-21 (“Ordinance 21”)
- Planning consultant
- Burgis Associates
- Named redeveloper
- CHI Acquisitions, L.P. (Resolution 2026-250)
- County application
- Bergen County SP8918
2023 and 2024
The public planning story centers on warehouse redevelopment.
Earlier Wallington records describe the Main Avenue redevelopment primarily around warehouse and industrial development.
February 26, 2026
Borough planning material still discusses a large warehouse complex.
February 2026 Borough planning material discussed an approximately 800,000 square foot warehouse complex.
July 9, 2026 Application SP8918
The development process was already moving.
Bergen County records identify Application SP8918 involving 460–520 Main Avenue, showing the project moving through formal review. County correspondence went to the Wallington Planning Board and Board of Adjustment concerning the application.
The records package identifies a Traffic Impact Study, Stormwater Report, storm and sanitary sewer exhibit, survey, plan set and other engineering materials. This project was not beginning with a blank sheet of paper.
- Survey
- Storm and sanitary sewer exhibit
- Stormwater Report
- Traffic Impact Study
- Plan set
- and other engineering materials
Documents identified in the SP8918 records package, before the August 4 plan.
Detailed data center standards appeared later, in the August 4 plan. That leaves an important public records question: what happened between those planning stages?
August 4, 2026
The rules are rewritten to allow data centers
The amended redevelopment plan behind Ordinance 21 includes detailed data center rules. It goes far beyond four ordinary warehouses. The name placed on a building matters less than what the law allows inside it and around it.
Who directed the rewrite?
Ordinance 21 says the amended redevelopment plan was prepared by Burgis Associates “at the direction of the Mayor and Council.”
In plain English: the Mayor and Council told Burgis Associates, the Borough planning consultant, to prepare the amended redevelopment plan.
Residents do not have to speculate about that. It is written directly into the ordinance.
Official source: Ordinance 21 and the August 4 redevelopment plan
Master Plan amendment
Where is the referenced Land Use Master Plan amendment?
The August 4 redevelopment plan refers to simultaneous adoption of an attached Land Use Master Plan amendment.
That separate document has not been located within the public Ordinance 21 packet reviewed for this investigation.
How big the new rules allow things to be
- Data center building height
- Up to 65 feet
- For buildings not fronting Main Avenue.
- Rooftop equipment
- Another 10 feet
- A potential visible envelope of roughly 75 feet, approximately the height of a conventional 7.5 story building.
- Impervious coverage
- Up to 90 percent
- Roofs, pavement and other hard surfaces.
- Telecommunications tower
- One, up to 150 feet
- Allowed within the redevelopment area.
The equipment the plan makes room for
Large systems that go with data center use, not with an ordinary warehouse.
Electrical infrastructure
Transformers, substations and switchgear
The plan contemplates large electrical systems capable of serving industrial and technology uses.
Backup systems
Generators and battery systems
Emergency generators and battery systems are among the equipment addressed by the redevelopment plan.
Cooling and noise
Cooling equipment, chillers and fans
The ordinance specifically requires noise analysis for cooling systems, chillers, fans, transformers, generators, substations, battery systems and rooftop equipment.
Why it matters beyond the property line
Stormwater and runoff
Water still has to go somewhere.
The redevelopment standards allow up to 90 percent impervious coverage: up to 90 of every 100 squares in the drawing could be roofs, pavement and other hard surfaces. That makes stormwater calculations, drainage routes and downstream effects important parts of the public review.
- Hard surfaces, up to 90%
- Open ground, at least 10%
Homes
Residential neighborhoods are nearby.
That makes building scale, noise, electrical equipment, generators, traffic and stormwater legitimate questions for residents to examine closely.
Wood Ridge
The questions do not stop at the Wallington border.
The redevelopment plan itself discusses nearby Wood Ridge development. Traffic, drainage, noise and infrastructure can affect adjoining areas regardless of municipal boundaries.
Main source: Official Ordinance 21 and August 4 redevelopment plan
August 13, 2026
Ordinance 21 is introduced, and a redeveloper agreement appears, then disappears
Ordinance 21 was introduced at the August 13 Council meeting. An archived agenda from the same meeting also included Resolution 2026-250, authorizing the Borough to execute a Redeveloper’s Agreement with CHI Acquisitions for 460–520 Main Avenue. In the revised agenda, Resolution 250 is no longer listed.
Archived agenda
August 13 Council meeting
Resolution 2026-250
“Authorizing the Borough of Wallington to Execute a Redeveloper's Agreement with CHI/ACQUISITIONS, L.P. for the Property Located at 460–520 Main Avenue.”
Revised agenda
August 13 Council meeting
Resolution 2026-250
No longer listed.
- Where is Resolution 250?
- Where is the agreement?
- Why was the item removed?
September 15, 2026
Residents pack the Planning Board meeting
One of the most encouraging parts of this entire experience was seeing residents fill the Civic Center on both September 15 and September 17. It started here.
People came with questions.
Residents asked about the proposed warehouses, Ordinance 21, data centers, traffic, stormwater, utilities and the public process.
Written resident questions were submitted. Attorney correspondence concerning neighboring interests was also listed on the Planning Board agenda, and Planning Board correspondence differed between agenda versions.
The Board did not complete its Ordinance 21 consistency review that night.
Correspondence on the final agenda
September 15 Planning Board meeting
- Bergen County correspondence concerning Application SP8918
- Attorney letter concerning Ordinance 21
- A second attorney letter concerning Ordinance 21
- Written questions submitted by Dr. Sikorski
Our reading of the statute
What that means for Ordinance 21
The Planning Board’s recommendation is not needed for Council to reject Ordinance 21.
Council votes on Ordinance 21
- To adopt it
- Planning Board report required firstN.J.S.A. 40A:12A-7(e)
- Council reviews the report, then votes
- Ordinance adopted
- To reject it
- No Planning Board recommendation required
- Council votes it down
- Ordinance 21 is rejected
Why the unfinished review does not block a rejection
New Jersey’s redevelopment law says the Planning Board report comes
“Prior to the adoption of a redevelopment plan, or revision or amendment thereto.”
The requirement is tied to adopting the plan. Voting Ordinance 21 down is not adopting it. So the Planning Board not finishing its review on September 15 did not stop Council from rejecting the ordinance two days later.
September 17, 2026
Residents were told there would be an Ordinance 21 hearing. They came. The hearing did not happen.
Two days after the Planning Board meeting, residents came back to the Civic Center expecting the public hearing the Borough had officially advertised.
What the Borough advertised
Public hearing notice
Public hearing on Ordinance 21
September 17 at 6:30 PM, Wallington Civic Center.
Interested and affected people would have an opportunity to be heard.
What was on the final agenda
September 17 Council meeting, ordinance section
Ordinance 21
Not listed in the ordinance section.
Residents prepared. Residents came.
The Council meeting happened. The Ordinance 21 hearing did not. Residents instead used the general Hearing of Citizens, the available public comment period, to speak about their concerns directly to the governing body.
Wallington showed up.
For the second time in three days, residents filled the Civic Center. Whatever someone thinks about Ordinance 21, watching neighbors come into Borough Hall, listen to one another and speak directly to their government was important.
Who wants a data center in Wallington?
No hands raised.
During the meeting, a resident asked who wanted a data center in Wallington. According to residents present, no resident and no member of the governing body raised a hand.
Dr. Sikorski’s view
The hearing should have been held, and Ordinance 21 rejected.
The Planning Board’s recommendation is not needed to reject Ordinance 21. The hearing was advertised, residents were in the room, and Council could have voted the ordinance down that night. Instead, it remains unresolved.
Dr. Sikorski’s view
Seeing parents bring their children was extraordinary.
One of the moments that stayed with me was seeing parents bring their children into the Civic Center so the children could watch their mothers, fathers and neighbors stand up and voice grievances directly to their government.
They were watching civic participation in their own hometown. Not in a textbook. Not years later in a history class. Right there in Wallington.
They saw ordinary residents ask questions, challenge public decisions and speak for themselves.
This is what constitutional civic participation looks like.
The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and the right of the people to petition government for a redress of grievances.
Residents coming to a public meeting, speaking about government decisions and presenting grievances are exercising those basic constitutional rights.
Now
What is documented, and what is still unanswered
The records investigation continues. Additional records are being requested, reviewed and organized so residents can understand the complete process.
Documented
- Ordinance 21 expressly allows Data Center use.
- Multiple buildings are permitted under the plan.
- The ordinance says Burgis prepared the amended plan at the direction of Mayor and Council.
- Bergen County records show Application SP8918 involving the property.
- Resolution 250 appeared on an archived August 13 Council agenda.
- Resolution 250 is absent from the revised agenda.
- The Borough advertised a September 17 public hearing concerning Ordinance 21.
- The final September 17 Council agenda did not list Ordinance 21 in the ordinance section.
Still unanswered
- What happened to Resolution 250.
- Whether a final Redeveloper’s Agreement with CHI Acquisitions was executed.
- What any agreement drafts contained.
- Why Resolution 250 was removed from the revised agenda.
- Where the referenced Land Use Master Plan amendment is.
- What communications led to the detailed data center provisions.
- How the current project reached its present level of engineering preparation.
Dr. Sikorski’s view
Residents should not have to spend weeks reconstructing major municipal decisions from changing agendas, difficult to locate records and unanswered questions. That is why the public records investigation continues.
Validate everything
Do not rely only on social media, rumors, officials, political organizations or this page. Open the documents yourself.
Borough of Wallington records
- Ordinance 21 and the August 4 redevelopment plan
What the redevelopment rules say, who directed the rewrite, and the public hearing notice.
wallingtonnj.org - Archived August 13 Council agenda
Lists Resolution 250, the Redeveloper’s Agreement with CHI Acquisitions.
wallingtonnj.org - Revised August 13 Council agenda
Resolution 250 is no longer listed. Compare it with the archived version.
wallingtonnj.org - September 15 Planning Board agenda
Lists county correspondence on SP8918, two attorney letters on Ordinance 21 and written resident questions.
wallingtonnj.org - September 17 Council agenda
The final agenda does not list Ordinance 21 in the ordinance section.
wallingtonnj.org - February 2026 planning document
Discusses an approximately 800,000 square foot warehouse complex.
wallingtonnj.org - Earlier 520 Main Avenue drainage report
Background for the stormwater questions.
wallingtonnj.org
Other sources
- Application SP8918 records trail
The public records request behind the Bergen County application documents.
opramachine.com - N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-7, adoption of redevelopment plan
The state law that ties the Planning Board report to adopting a redevelopment plan.
law.justia.com - The First Amendment
Protections for speech, peaceful assembly and petitioning government.
congress.gov
How you can get involved
You do not have to attend every meeting. Different people can help in different ways. Start wherever fits your time.
A few minutes
Right now, from your phone
Small actions that help information reach more residents.
Share the records
Send source documents and this investigation to neighbors who want to understand the issue.
Share on FacebookFollow the community page
Public records, local issues, meeting updates and community participation.
Follow on FacebookRegister to vote
Residents can check their registration through the State of New Jersey.
Check voter registrationChallenge the research
If something is wrong or unclear, point it out. Better questions improve the record.
Send a correction
One evening
At a public meeting
Being in the room is how residents were heard on September 15 and 17.
Attend public meetings
Attending lets residents hear what is said directly and participate in the public process.
Find meeting agendasSpeak during public comment
On September 17, residents spoke to the governing body during the Hearing of Citizens, the general public comment period.
Bring the source documents
Ongoing
With your skills
Contributions do not have to be financial. Pick what you are good at and get in touch.
Help investigate
Records need to be found, read, compared, organized and preserved.
Offer to helpHelp with video
Long meeting videos need to become short, clear clips that residents can understand.
Offer to helpHelp with IT
Website, archiving, organization and technical support are needed.
Offer to helpHelp translate
Public information should reach residents across language barriers. This investigation is also in Polski and Español.
Offer to helpHelp reach every block
A neighborhood contact network can help information reach residents throughout Wallington.
Offer to help
This reporting is free. It is not funded by anyone with a stake in Ordinance 21, and it isn’t connected to any paid service. Funding and independence
Contact: advocacy (at) bestisme.org
Residents have raised other Wallington issues that also deserve careful review
The data center investigation has also shown the value of preserving records, asking questions and making local information easier for residents to find.
Communications towers
Existing and proposed tower infrastructure can be documented and reviewed.
Water
Residents have raised questions about water quality and infrastructure.
Sewers and drainage
Neighborhood drainage and sewer concerns deserve their own documented record.
Other neighborhood concerns
Additional municipal issues can be investigated as records and evidence become available.
How this reporting works
Wallington — The Heart of New Jersey is independent local reporting, published by Best Is Me LLC and edited by Simon Sikorski, MD, a Wallington resident.
Records-use policy
- We use public records to report. Where a record supports a claim, we link to the official copy or share the relevant part, free.
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Corrections
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