Daily Herald opinion: The silo approach: Aurora’s solid new policy on data centers also exposes vulnerabilities communities face

The Aurora City Council approved last week what appears to be a pretty solid new policy on data center developments. Now the city must hope it doesn’t get punished for it.

The council’s action followed a moratorium launched in September to better understand the costs, benefits and drawbacks of these large projects needed to manage the burgeoning demands of advanced online technology. The pause appears to have been time well spent, as the city produced a new policy that more clearly defines what data centers are, what they can include and where they can be located. The action responds to growing complaints from residents about noise, pollution, water use and electrical demand — and who will pay for it.

“These innovative ordinances will help establish significant safeguards for our residents and the environment moving forward,” Mayor John Laesch said in a news release after the city council meeting, as reported by our Susan Sarkauskas. “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 Illinoisans who are suffering from high electricity bills, while helping to enhance quality of life for communities across the state.”

Laesch’s call-out to the legislature is understandable.

With more and more suburbs confronting the challenges of data center proposals, Aurora’s action appears to provide a foundation for policies that can react to environmental, financial and quality of life matters. However, it also brings to mind concerns raised in nearby Naperville last January, when city leaders rejected a data center proposal in response to community fears similar to those that led to Aurora’s moratorium.

In a conversation with our Katlyn Smith in the months leading up to that vote, Naperville City Councilman Ian Holzhauer described the dilemma communities face.

“You could easily have a situation where a data center developer is choosing amongst a dozen communities, and you don't want to be in a situation where there's a race to the bottom,” he said, adding that communities need standards that “hold across the board, really, for Chicagoland and not try to do this in a silo.”

With five data centers already sited in town, Aurora officials no doubt felt a certain urgency in the silo approach, at least insofar as having basic standards giving them control over the developments. To their credit, they went beyond the basics in the policies adopted last week — including such requirements as reports on matters like energy use and water use, restrictions on how close noisy chillers can be to residential neighborhoods and standards for sharing or selling biometric data.

The policies are so specific and clear that officials said Aurora likely doesn’t have any property now that would qualify for a large data center without extensive demolition, suggesting the city is absenting itself from any potential competition for low standards. At the same time, it demonstrates the city’s vulnerability if neighboring towns hungry for the abundant revenues data centers offer set out more-accommodating conditions.

Aurora likely has the resources to protect against such vulnerabilities. We worry about the suburbs that may not. Even now, state lawmakers are considering measures related to data center developments and requirements. We urge them to keep these concerns in mind as they proceed.