Yorkville close to reaching settlement on resident’s lawsuit over 1,037 acre data center

A resident’s lawsuit filed against the city of Yorkville to halt the 1,037 acre Project Cardinal data center is heading closer to a settlement.

The final agreement between the attorneys is subject to approval by City Council.

During a hearing at the Kendall County Courthouse in front of Judge Robert Pilmer on March 20, attorneys for all involved parties said “substantial progress” has been made and there are only a few remaining issues to agree upon for the revised draft of the settlement agreement.

Resident John Bryan’s lawsuit argues the data center campus and its construction with 14 two-story warehouses built over a decade or more, will negatively impact his property values and quality of life.

Video: Resident John Bryan demonstrates data center noise to Yorkville city council Resident John Bryan of Yorkville, who sued the city to halt the 1,037 acre Project Cardinal data center, uses a speaker to demonstrate its noise pollution. (Joey Weslo)

Bryan filed his initial lawsuit against the city to stop the project from going through on Oct. 28, 2025. At a Dec. 19, 2025 hearing, the developer Pioneer Development LLC requested and was granted permission to join the case as a defendant.

Neither side disclosed a possible monetary amount or specific details of the settlement.

The judge granted a continuance to April 10.

During the hearing, an attorney for the city said, “We certainly share in the desire to get this resolved.”

The city recently greenlit Project Cardinal by approving the necessary annexation, rezoning, utility and infrastructure agreement for the data center to move forward.

Currently, 3,016 acres in Yorkville have been slated for data center development along the town’s ComEd transmission station line off Eldamain Road. This includes 12 separate development projects either already approved, currently under review, or involving site inquiries with the intent to apply for permit. — Currently, 3,016 acres in Yorkville have been slated for data center development along the town’s ComEd transmission station line off Eldamain Road. This includes around a dozen separate development projects either already approved, currently under review, or involving site inquiries with the intent to apply for permit. (Photo Provided By The City of Yorkville)

During the City Council meeting on March 10, several neighboring residents voiced concerns about the data centers negatively impacting the area.

City administrator Bart Olson said the property deal for Project Cardinal should close this fall. ComEd still needs to grant full power allocation to the sites for them to be finalized.

During a City Council meeting earlier this year, Bryan demonstrated what he said was the expected noise pollution generated from the data center campus by blaring the decibels through a speaker.

During several city meetings, residents upset over the data centers said they would rather move away from their Yorkville neighborhoods than live next to them.

City administrator Bart Olson previously said data centers will be required to keep their noise pollution under the city’s noise ordinance leves.

A sound pollution study was commissioned by the developers. The study did not include sound pollution generated from the 10- to 20-year construction period.

City officials and aldermen have previously said they envision 3,000 acres of former agricultural land along the Eldamain Corridor becoming Yorkville’s own data center development. The city has moved forward around a dozen data center projects outside of Project Cardinal, including the 502-acre Project Steel.