Possible Data Center Pause Could Reshape County

Champaign County leaders are set to decide on April 23 whether to pause approval of new large data centers in unincorporated areas while they write zoning rules. (champaigncountyil.gov) The proposal started as a 12-month moratorium on facilities with at least 10,000 square feet of processing area, a threshold written into the county’s zoning case file on March 5. County documents say pending or newly proposed projects above that size would be held in abeyance during the pause. (co.champaign.il.us) On April 9, the county’s Environment and Land Use Committee amended that timeline to nine months after debate over whether six, nine or 12 months was enough. The committee then recommended County Board approval of the moratorium as amended. (wcia.com) (champaigncountyil.gov) County officials have paired the pause with a new Data Center Activities Task Force, which the board authorized on February 19. The county says the group must deliver recommendations on zoning changes to the Environment and Land Use Committee within three months of its first meeting. (ipmnewsroom.org) (champaigncountyil.gov) The county’s own task-force page says data centers can place unusual demands on electric service, water use and supporting infrastructure, and that current zoning rules may not be specific enough. It also lists farmland, nearby communities and existing public systems among the concerns driving the review. (champaigncountyil.gov) That debate is not abstract in Champaign-Urbana. In neighboring Urbana, the city council voted 6-1 on March 4 for a 12-month moratorium on new data centers, putting a proposed $1 billion “Urbana Technology Hub” project into limbo. (wyso.org) Developers and supporters have argued the projects could bring construction work, jobs and economic activity. Opponents have focused on electricity demand, water use, noise, wildlife habitat and property values, arguments aired at county and city meetings over the past two months. (wcia.com) (ipmnewsroom.org) One reason the county moved now is scale. At the March zoning hearing, Prairie Rivers Network’s Andrew Rehn said two data centers planned near Joliet are 1,800 megawatts each, which he described as more than 10 times larger than the biggest one currently operating in Illinois. (ipmnewsroom.org) Thursday’s vote will decide whether Champaign County freezes that part of its development pipeline for nine months while staff and the task force draft rules. If the board approves the measure, the argument shifts from whether to pause to what standards future projects will have to meet. (champaigncountyil.gov 1) (champaigncountyil.gov 2)