As Aurora’s moratorium on data centers nears its end, the city is planning an open house to give residents the chance to voice concerns and ask questions about the topic.
The Data Center Open House is planned to take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at the city’s Public Works building, 2185 Liberty St. Not only will Aurora residents and businesses have the chance to ask questions and provide feedback, but they will also get to learn about some of the considerations going into the development of potential requirements on future data center development in the city.
That’s according to the city’s webpage on the data center and warehouse moratorium, where those interested in attending the open house can find a link to register: aurora.il.us/Property-and-Business/Zoning-and-Planning/Data-Center-and-Warehouse-Moratorium
A survey about data centers, which says it will be used to help inform city staff when developing policy around data center development, is also included on that city webpage.
The Aurora City Council on Sept. 25 temporarily paused the approval of data center and warehouse proposals to give staff the chance to create new guidelines around these types of developments. The temporary moratorium is planned to be in effect for a total of 180 days, so until late March, but it could be extended an additional 30 days.
Citing an increased number of applications and residents’ concerns with existing facilities, city staff asked for the moratorium to give them time to research ways to mitigate the various impacts of data centers, which are currently classified as warehouses under the city’s code, then report recommendations back to City Council. Alison Lindburg, Aurora’s director of sustainability, said recently that those recommendations are set to be released within the next few weeks.
Aurora is not against data centers as a whole, Aurora Mayor John Laesch said when the moratorium was put in place, but the city does need guardrails to protect residents and to make sure facilities aren’t “contributing to the climate crisis.”
The city has said it would generally not be accepting or approving applications for new data center or warehouse developments, or the expansion of existing facilities, under the moratorium. However, there were several exemptions included within the moratorium, through which some developments have been approved.
When the moratorium was put in place, there were five data center developments that were attempting to get approval, Aurora Chief Development Services Officer John Curley previously said. At the same time, city staff were working to address residents’ concerns around noise, traffic and environmental impacts of existing facilities.
The Beacon-News has previously reported on noise concerns raised by those living near the CyrusOne data center, located at the corner of Eola and Diehl roads on Aurora’s far East Side near Interstate 88.
Repairs made to that data center in April required the use of backup generators for many days straight, which caused consistently loud noise in the surrounding area that residents called “unlivable” and “horrible.” Since then, CyrusOne has been regularly meeting with residents and working toward mitigating the noise from those generators and from rooftop cooling units that residents say are also an issue.
Permanent measures have been put in place to block the sound from the backup diesel generators, which are tested regularly and used during power outages. Temporary measures are also in place for the rooftop chillers, with permanent solutions planned to be completed later this year, company officials said at a community meeting in mid-January.
And, in October, the city of Aurora signed an agreement with CyrusOne that set a timeline for the company to continue addressing residents’ noise concerns.
In addition to concerns about noise, city staff have also pointed out potential issues around the amount of energy and water data centers often take to operate, air quality due to diesel backup generators and greenhouse gas emissions.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
