ANDOVER TWP. - Nobody, it seems, wants data centers in their neighborhood.

But that's not as simple as it sounds.

It's not surprising that a political row of sorts has popped up in this Sussex County town of about 6,000 over a proposed data center at 248 Stickles Pond Road near Route 206.

The foundation of this dispute seems based on some initial misunderstanding by the governing body.

As the inevitability of AI grows, controversy over data centers has grown with it.

Critics raise many objections.

Data centers consume tremendous amounts of water and electricity. They can pollute the air. Combine that with uneasiness about the eventual influence of AI and you have the proverbial perfect storm.

Still, a proposal by National Land Developers LLC of Media, Pa. for a data center in the township seemed to be gliding to approval.

The 812-acre parcel was first deemed an "area in need of redevelopment," a designation sometimes used to eliminate blight. That was in 2021.

Some procedural steps by the township committee followed.

As the data center plan became known, intense opposition surfaced. Nonetheless, the committee introduced an ordinance on May 7 updating previous standards for data center development on the site in question.

Things changed - quickly.

Five days later, the committee rescinded that ordinance. Data centers were now banned.

Clearly, this looks like a case where the governing body thoroughly misunderstood public sentiment. And they were trying to catch up.

That move had consequences.

The developer - National Land Developers - is now suing the township, seeking to overturn the ordinance banning data centers. With such a quick reversal, that is to be expected.

Most recently, Mayor Tim Walsh said in a social media post that the township has the funding in place and will defend the ordinance.

There is, of course, some public skepticism about that. And also a willingness to fight, as seen on a Facebook page called Stop Andover NJ Data Center. Unfortunately, fighting in public or online is not going to impact a court case.

As for the aforementioned politics, Zoe Heath, the chair of the Sussex County Democratic Committee, condemned data centers. She also had this to say in a Facebook post.

"New Jersey Republicans consistently champion these corporate resource draining eyesores under the guise of' 'development.' Locally, the Sussex GOP and County Commissioners continue to aggressively lobby for these projects whenever land is available, allegedly using threats of political retaliation to force local government compliance."

One man reading that was Joseph LaBarbera, the Sussex County Republican chair. He presented a post of his own:

"(The) Facebook post by Sussex Democrat chairwoman is incorrect, and possibly a deliberate lie. At no time have I, or any of the SCRC leadership, 'lobbied' for data centers. We ask an apology from Ms. Zoe Heath for this untruth. Engaging in slander is foolish, illegal and not befitting a party leader. "

What happens next in this saga with the court case, the political sparring and the public is unknown. Maybe AI can make a prediction.