As proposed data center projects crop up in Chicago’s western suburbs, Sugar Grove is considering changes to its existing data center rules meant to further regulate future development projects.
The discussions in Sugar Grove come in the wake of nearby Aurora adopting strict new data center regulations last month, following the conclusion of a moratorium on data center developments.
At a meeting of the Sugar Grove Village Board on Tuesday, Village President Sue Stillwell, who brought the topic of modifying Sugar Grove’s rules on data centers forward, expressed concerns about the village’s existing regulations and indicated an interest in putting a moratorium on data center development projects for the time being, similar to what Aurora recently did.
In Sugar Grove, a possible data center is under contract
More Top Picks Qled Vs Oled Vs Led
and could be built in the next three to four years. It would be part of the controversial mixed-use development that’s planned for 760 acres at Interstate 88 and Route 47, a portion of land that was annexed into the village in 2024.Construction began on that project, called The Grove, last year, despite substantial public opposition, the passage of a non-binding referendum question last year asking the village to reverse its decision on the project and the ousting of former village president Jennifer Konen and an incumbent village trustee — both of whom voted in favor of the project.
The village is also only a short distance away from other data center projects in the area, including a roughly 1,000-acre data center campus slated to be built just south of Sugar Grove that was recently annexed into Yorkville.
Yorkville, which lies just south of Sugar Grove, has become a sort of hub for data center projects, in part due to the area’s proximity to a ComEd substation. Several projects at varying stages of approval are under consideration there, forming what may one day be a sort of corridor of data center campuses in the northeast quadrant of Eldamain Road and Route 34.
To the southeast, Joliet last month approved what is set to be the state’s largest data center, while the Naperville City Council recently shot down a proposed data center project.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Stillwell was unable to secure sufficient support for a moratorium on data centers in Sugar Grove, but the board did find some consensus on establishing zoning changes while the village looks at modifying its existing regulations.
At the meeting, Community Development Director Danielle Marion explained that the village adopted an ordinance in 2022 creating a specific zoning district for data centers, and allowing data centers to be built, with some conditions, in that type of zoning area, as well as in a limited manufacturing district or light industrial district within the village, according to a board report by village staff.
That means that a data center looking to come to Sugar Grove would not require additional board approvals should it wish to build on land that’s categorized as one of those zoning types, though there are other standards that must be met, regulating things like structure height, landscaping and performance and wastewater standards.
Marion said there is currently no land within the village that’s zoned as a data center district or a light industrial district. That means, the board report from the village said, that a data center looking to set up on any land that’s not zoned for limited manufacturing would have to first rezone the property to one of the three permitted zoning district types, which requires a public hearing before the village’s plan commission and approval by its village board.
The three zoning districts have some differing conditions, the board report said — the data center district, for example, allows for taller buildings than the other two types and requires a significantly larger minimum lot size.
The board established these regulations in order to streamline the process for data centers looking to build in Sugar Grove, as well as to establish “strict requirements” for them, Marion said at the meeting.
The village board has four options, essentially, when it comes to modifications to its data center regulations, Marion explained.
First, Sugar Grove could keep its current regulations as they are. Or, it could adjust some of the requirements currently outlined in village code on things like building height. Alternatively, it could change the permitted uses in the different zoning districts — for example, eliminating the data center district category entirely from its code and allowing data centers to be built only in limited manufacturing or light industrial zoning districts, or even making data centers a special use within those districts. Lastly, the village board could opt to remove data centers from the code entirely, meaning they would not be permitted within the village.
These changes would not apply to plans that have already been approved within the village, Marion said.
Stillwell, who brought the matter forward, pushed for a moratorium, arguing that the ordinance currently on the books essentially enables a developer meeting the relevant requirements and seeking to build in an area that’s already appropriately zoned would not have to go before the board for a data center project within the village.
And she said that, given the pushback to the one data center that may be coming into Sugar Grove, residents would likely have concerns about a second one coming into town if the board didn’t “have the ability to make all of the decisions at the board level.” Stillwell said, however, that Sugar Grove is not currently trying to attract data center projects.
At the meeting, village trustees weighed in on how the village should proceed — expressing support for looking at additional regulations, but split on the prospect of a moratorium.
Trustee Sean Michels said he’d like to keep the village’s ordinance in place, emphasizing the economic benefits of data center development. However, he said he appreciated the standards put in place by Aurora and expressed support for amending the current regulations.
Aurora’s newly-passed rules will hold future data centers to strict energy efficiency, water efficiency and noise emission standards, and will require them to produce a number of studies and reports around these issues. Unlike before, the Aurora City Council now has the ability to approve or deny all proposed data center developments.
Aurora currently has five data centers within city limits, with another five in development.
More Top Picks Migraine Glasses How They Actually Work
Sugar Grove Village Administrator Scott Koeppel, referring to the standards implemented by Aurora, indicated that Sugar Grove did not currently have noise standards in its regulations. He also pointed out that data center buildings are typically taller than allowed by the village’s limited manufacturing and light industrial district requirements, saying future data center developers would therefore likely ask for the land they build on to be rezoned to a data center district.
Stillwell, for her part, said it would take time for the village to modify its standards, questioning why the village would keep the requirements given a need to “rewrite” much of it.
“I just don’t know why we would keep this one on the books and modify everything about it,” Stillwell said. “Wouldn’t it be easier to repeal this one, do the research and then pass something that we agree on?”
Trustee Heidi Lendi, during the discussion, expressed support for the village “tighten(ing) up” its regulations, citing possible requirements related to future data center projects’ transparency with the public and their use of green energy.
“I think there’s a lot of stuff, if we can get it in there … I think we need to look at,” Lendi said. “A lot of things have changed since 2022.”
Trustee Michael Roskopf, however, said he was against data centers, and that the village doesn’t know what the future impact of data centers will be. At the meeting, he expressed support for a moratorium on data center developments.
Michels, however, emphasized that the village wants to remain competitive with the surrounding market, and said data centers are a “good way to go” when it comes to economic development.
“Retail is not coming,” Michels said. “We need to be in business to help bring in new development to our community.”
He also said that data centers are becoming more “ecologically friendly,” and that the village can still put limitations on the developments.
Roskopf, however, countered that data centers don’t provide significant jobs, but only provide an additional tax base while using up resources.
Trustee Nora London said she wants the village to “reevaluate what (it) wants to do with them,” expressing concern about increases in energy costs trickling down to residents. But London expressed agreement with the need to look at the projects from an economic development standpoint as well.
Trustee Anthony Speciale, too, said he’s in favor of economic development in the community and noted a need for property tax revenue, but said the village still needs to be “good neighbors.”
“It’s always a balancing act,” Speciale said.
He suggested that the village shouldn’t “jump right into banning them,” but expressed support for further regulations.
From there, Lendi suggested the village could modify the village’s zoning regulations to temporarily make data centers a special use, rather than a permitted use, while the village reevaluates its regulations, in case a developer looks to propose a data center project in the village in the near future. That move would essentially function as a “stopgap,” Lendi said.
At the conclusion of the discussion, Stillwell indicated that there wasn’t the needed consensus among the village board for a total moratorium on data center projects, but that there was sufficient support for temporarily making data centers a special use categorization in a limited manufacturing district while the village works on adjusting its regulations. That way, since there is no land currently zoned as the other types of districts where data centers are permitted in Sugar Grove, a developer seeking to rezone property to build a data center would first have to go before the plan commission and village board, Marion said.
Koeppel, during the meeting, said that requiring a special use can make it more difficult for developers to move forward with projects, and that having a data center district makes it easier for land to be rezoned and creates an established set of rules that must be followed.
Marion indicated that the proposed change to the zoning rules would require a public hearing with the village’s Plan Commission first before it can officially be approved by the board. Stillwell also indicated an intention to hold another board discussion about the specific regulations they want to implement going forward.