Aurora City Council Approves Regulations For Data Center Development

AURORA, IL — After months of back and forth, the Aurora City Council approved first-of-its-kind regulations on future data center development in the city.

The approval at Tuesday's City Council meeting came as the city's 180-day temporary moratorium on new data center facilities was set to expire the day prior. Ahead of the vote, the city's Development Services Department invoked a one-time 30-day extension to allow councilmembers more time to deliberate on the ordinances, if needed.

Enacted on Sept. 25, the moratorium gave city staff the opportunity to generate clear rules surrounding data center development in order to protect residents and businesses, guide developers when proposing future projects, and ensure long-term community sustainability.

Before Tuesday, Aurora City Code considered data centers as a type of warehouse, and due to this classification, subsequent zoning ordinances and building codes did not include tailored provisions that specifically address data center developments.

There are currently five data centers within Aurora's city limits, and five more are in development. Residents have complained about emissions, the noise from multiple regular and emergency operational sources, and the vibration from emergency operations, Patch reported.

RELATED: City Council Looks To Implement Moratorium On Data Center Facilities, Warehouses In Aurora

"These new regulations are the result of months of work from City staff, who conducted extensive research and engaged the public to gather feedback on the future of data center development in Aurora," Director of Sustainability Alison Lindburg said in a statement. "We will continue to keep our residents' needs front and center as we work with developers who are committed to meeting these standards."

The regulations provide a formal definition for data centers and include updates on zoning standards. The ordinance requires developers to submit a baseline pre-development sound study, a noise modeling study, a water consumption and quality modeling report completed by a third party, and an energy consumption modeling report. The city will require them to publicly report water use, energy consumption and noise.

All future data centers will be required to install and operate either on-site renewable energy generation techniques or on-site resilience storage procedures. They will also be required to comply with strict biometric data privacy safeguards.

Going forward, new data centers will also have to give public notice and be approved by City Council.

Aurora's new regulations are "considered the most robust throughout the State of Illinois, and some of the most protective in the country," city officials wrote in a news release.

"These innovative ordinances will help establish significant safeguards for our residents and the environment moving forward," Mayor John Laesch said in a statement. "With these local regulations now in place, it's time for the State of Illinois to follow suit and pass the Illinois POWER Act. This piece of common-sense legislation will assist Illinoisians who are suffering from high electricity bills, while helping to enhance quality of life for communities across the state."