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A New Jersey developer is seeking more than $300 million from Monroe Township after it barred data centres and rejected the company’s revised development application. The dispute puts a practical question behind the AI infrastructure boom: how far can local authorities go in changing the rules for projects residents do not want nearby?

What happened Hexa Builders first sought approval for two warehouses on a 159-acre redevelopment site. In April, it proposed a data centre of about one million square feet alongside a warehouse. That same month, the township adopted ordinances removing data centres from the site’s permitted uses and prohibiting them across the municipality. The Times of India reports that Hexa filed suit in June and that the case moved to federal court in July. The company alleges officials applied requirements inconsistently and blocked its revised application before the new restrictions took effect. It asks the court to overturn the ordinances, declare its application complete and award more than $300 million. That is the amount sought, not a court award.

Discuss: Should towns be able to block data centres through zoning changes, or should developers have stronger protection when the rules shift mid-project?

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