Data Center Moratorium Imposed In Plainfield After Unanimous Village Board Vote

PLAINFIELD, IL — The Plainfield Village Board unanimously voted Monday night to pass a 180-day moratorium on data centers and warehouses.

Trustees passed an ordinance placing a 180-day pause on the receipt of applications, the processing and approval, and the issuance of any permit for data centers and warehouses primarily used for storing computing infrastructure.

"To go into this mad rush of seeing dollar signs by approving data centers and tearing up valuable farmland ... we don't want to dive into this," Mayor John Argoudelis told Patch. "It's a very jarring thing to our community, and we are not interested in going down that route."

So far, Joliet, Yorkville and Minooka are among the towns in the area that have approved data centers.

"This isn't necessarily anti-AI or anti-technology," Argoudelis said. "It's simply recognizing this whole thing is in its infancy. This is a very big deal to all of a sudden start plopping down these million square foot facilities."

RELATED: Plainfield Village Board To Pass Moratorium On Data Centers: 'Don't Even Bother Applying'

Current zoning and development regulations do not fully account for the "distinct challenges and impacts" of data centers, according to a village memorandum.

"We want to make sure we take our time and allow things to evolve so we have a better understanding of what's needed and what makes sense," Argoudelis told Patch. "Right now, it doesn't make any sense to approve data centers that are kind of the first stage of technology."

With the six-month moratorium, staff, elected officials and consultants can study best practices, evaluate local conditions and develop a new unified development ordinance that addresses unique land use, infrastructure and regulatory considerations associated with data centers, Patch reported.

The village will not have to ratify any measures within the 180-day timeframe. The mayor said it's "highly likely" the 180-day moratorium will be extended multiple times.

"I doubt we'll have the clarity we're looking for in 180 days," he said.