N.J. Township Reaffirms Detention Centers Are Not a Permitted Use as Residents Fear an ICE Site

Andover Township passed a resolution on September 17 reaffirming that detention centers, jails and detainment facilities are not permitted uses under its zoning code, after residents raised fears that a vacant former airport property bought by BHT Properties Group could become an ICE detention site. No detention proposal has actually been filed: the land carries an approval for a furniture manufacturing and storage facility that expires in December. Officials declined a separate outright ban as duplicative, and municipal attorney Fred Semrau cautioned that “the state and the federal government can always override these types of bans,” pointing to Alligator Alcatraz. Neptune and Sparta have passed similar bans.