More than 170 people have signed an online petition against Endeavour Energy’s proposed 560-acre Edged data center development in DeKalb.

The petition had 174 signatures as of 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to Change.org.

Some community opposition has taken to the internet in hopes of garnering the attention of decision-makers such as Illinois Attorney General Kwame Roul, DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes, 4th Ward Alderman Justin Carlson and Afton Township Supervisor Randall Bourdages, according to the petition.

Started by Darby Fisher, the petition aims to encourage city leaders to reconsider approval of the data center on about 560 acres on the east and west sides of Route 23, north of Keslinger Road and west of Crego Road. The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission backed the project Monday after a crowded public hearing at which both support and opposition was voiced.

The development, also known as “Project Vector,” still requires support from the City Council, however. A vote is scheduled for Monday.

It’s not yet known what company would use the massive data center, if built, however.

If approved by the City Council, Endeavour Energy – which also has a data center in Aurora – plans to rent out its data center servers to a large-scale user. The city hasn’t announced who that user might be. Most of the land is owned by ChicagoWest Business Center. ChicagoWest Developer Jerry Krusinski has petitioned the city to annex and rezone the land to use for the data center.

Some of the concerns raised during the public hearing this week debated pros and cons to allowing another data center in town and its impact on the environment and neighbors who live nearby.

Data centers typically use massive amounts of water and energy to keep their 24/7 servers operating.

Endeavour Energy has said it plans to use natural gas-powered generators to cool its servers instead of water. Meta’s data center in DeKalb, comparatively, is limited by the city to 200,000 gallons of water per day, documents show.

Among some of those present for the public hearing this week were Barnes and Carlson.

In the online petition, details outlined Project Vector and the potential for negative impacts on the community and the environment.

“If approved, this center will introduce significant environmental hazards, ranging from air pollutants to chemical contamination, noise and light pollution, and disruption to local wildlife,” according to the petition.

In addition, the petition points to concerns for raising the cost of living for homeowners and lowering residents’ quality of life.

“The increased demand for utilities and potential alteration to property values could place undue financial strain on families,” according to the petition. “Furthermore, the use of land for the data center could render crucial farmlands unusable for generations, impacting local farmers’ livelihoods and the community’s access to fresh, local produce.”

The petition also suggests city leaders “explore alternative locations or technologies that do not compromise our health, safety and environmental integrity” of the community.

City leaders, however, already have expressed support for the development, noting that Endeavour has plans to address those concerns with new technology.

The company markets itself online as a maker of sustainable data centers, providing “carbon-neutral, zero-water” data centers for major cloud companies.

Endeavour said its plans would account for noise pollution because the engines would operate at a higher frequency than other data centers might due in part to the innovative cooling technology, documents show.

Monday’s City Council meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St.