Aurora considers moratorium on new data centers
Aurora Mayor John Laesch wants the city to pump the brakes on adding or expanding data centers and warehouses.
At a special meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday, the city council will discuss enacting a 180-day moratorium, according to a news release.
According to the release, residents have complained about “environmental issues” at existing data centers, including emissions, noise from normal and emergency operations, and vibrations from emergency operations.
City code classifies data centers as a type of warehouse, according to the release.
It said the current code does not address sound, emissions, energy consumption, stormwater management, water use, and utility capacity. The news release added that the city wants to consider “strain” on unspecified infrastructure.
“With energy prices on the rise, our residents should not have to foot the bill of these large data centers that use excessive amounts of energy,” Mayor John Laesch said in the release. “We’re looking to further evaluate the impact of these data centers on our neighborhoods, helping to address the issues that they cause, especially around noise pollution, energy usage and traffic congestion.”
The release said the city will evaluate increases in energy prices related to paying for electrical infrastructure at data centers and their impact on residential energy bills.
The city does not have an electric utility. Residents pay ComEd or other electric suppliers.
Aurora has four data centers, and five are under development, a city spokesman said.
The moratorium would apply to new applications and expansions of existing facilities.
It would not apply to projects that have completed applications filed before the effective date of the moratorium. In addition, it would not apply to the remodeling of warehouses and data halls in existing data centers if the applications are filed before the ordinance takes effect.
If the moratorium is adopted, city workers would study the environmental, stormwater, utility and fiscal impacts of data centers and warehouses, recommend zoning changes and performance standards, and submit a report.