Ashcombe Farms opposes proposed Monroe Township data center project

Ashcombe Farms and Greenhouse has moved to the front of Monroe Township’s data-center fight, publicly opposing a proposal that would put a large project on land near the 800 block of West Granthan Road and the 1400 block of Williams Grove Road.

Kerri Laudig, co-owner of Ashcombe Farms and Greenhouse, said the business does not support the plan and stressed that Ashcombe never owned the land tied to the proposal. The project is being advanced by Pennsylvania Data Centers and Power House Data Center, and it has already become a flashpoint for questions about how much industrial development Cumberland County should accept in a township known for farmland and open space.

Laudig said the farm’s concerns center on habitat, animals, fishing and the character of the area. She also said customers have told the business they came specifically to show support. Ashcombe plans to attend a public meeting scheduled for June 11, where township officials will hear from residents about the data center plans.

Monroe Township said it had no comment on the proposal or what comes next, but the township has linked a current zoning ordinance amendment for data centers on its website. A Cumberland County Planning Department review report says Monroe Township submitted a zoning ordinance text amendment that would regulate data centers as conditional uses in the Industrial and Highway Commercial zoning districts. That means the issue is already moving through the planning process, even as the proposal remains under discussion.

Pennsylvania Data Centers said the talks in Monroe Township are still very preliminary. The company also said any potential Monroe Township discussions are unrelated to Pennsylvania Digital 1, or PAX-1, in Middlesex Township.

The dispute is part of a broader regional struggle over data-center growth in South Jersey and Cumberland County, where new proposals have drawn scrutiny over environmental and community impacts. In Monroe Township, the debate is now centered on whether the land on West Granthan Road and Williams Grove Road should remain part of the area’s agricultural identity or be opened to large-scale tech infrastructure that could reshape what nearby residents and businesses see every day.