Hour after hour, Yorkville residents spoke before the City Council on March 24 asking members to put a moratorium on approving data centers, all the while saying they knew the city would not go along with their wishes.

Few of the residents in attendance said they were surprised when a four-hour meeting concluded with city approval for the annexation, rezoning, and PUD for the 540-acre Project Steel data center, with 16 two-story warehouses.

The near unanimous vote came after little discussion by any aldermen.

The events of the night mirrored the March 11 city approval for the 1,034 acre Project Cardinal data center, with City Hall filled with angry residents opposing the manufacturing developments, and union tradesmen there to support the project.

Resident April Clary captured the sentiments of community members concerned the city is slating 3,000 acres of the Eldamain Corridor for one giant data center alley, especially given its proximity to residential neighborhoods.

“A majority of us speaking do not feel we are being heard, that the fact we pay taxes does not matter, that the minds of (City Council) is already made up before any of us open our mouths,” Clary said during the meeting. “My concern is, how many is enough? How many data centers is enough money for this board, for this community?”

Clary admonished the city for moving ahead with the project when she said residents have not received full assurances on potential cumulative sound, light and environmental pollution. The city has not yet received results from a cumulative sound pollution study.

The Project Steel project received approval votes from every council member except Alderman Rusty Corneils.

Alderman Arden “Joe” Plocher championed the project calling data center construction an important investment in the town’s future.

City Administrator Bart Olson said all agreements are not effective until the property sale and closing which should happen later this year. As part of the approvals, a development agreement between the city and developers, Prologis, L.P, includes a $40 million up-front check by the developers to be paid at the time of closing.

Olson previously said the money is being sent by the city to the school district for expanded facilities, the fire district, city projects, and charitable community organizations. Within the check, $30 million is being pledged straight to Yorkville School District 115.

A similar agreement was required before approval of Project Cardinal, with the developers offering $51 million up-front, including $38,250,000 straight to the schools.

Olson said the city is requiring continuous noise monitoring during construction, continuing after each building becomes fully operational. Excess noise pollution from rooftop generators has been an issue raised by residents living near data centers in towns like Aurora.

To shield residents from the industrial warehouses and four electrical substations , a 100-foot wide landscaped buffer with an 8-foot tall berm will surround the campus.

Addressing residents concerns about water consumption, Olson said Project Steel is an air-cooled system that will only use around 25,000 – 42,400 gallons per day. He said 25,000 gallons per day is the equivalent water usage of 90 to 120 homes.

Aldermen questioned why Project Steel could not be like Project Cardinal, which will be using zero municipal water and is trucking in its own water for a closed-loop system.

A parade of union tradesmen spoke in favor of the data centers, saying their construction will provide steady jobs. Residents in DeKalb have said the Meta data center was constructed with labor moved in from other states. Yorkville has not provided assurance that the jobs will be guaranteed for local workers.

Resident Neil Clary said while he supports the unions, “most of them are not from this community and their opinions should not hold more sway over City Council as those of local residents.”

He said families will move away from Yorkville once the construction starts.

“Nobody wants to visit data center row,” Neil Clary said. “Nobody wants to live in data center row... How many years of construction, traffic, noise and pollution is enough?”

Construction will be in three phases over 20 years. The developers are aiming to begin construction by the summer of 2027.

The city is requiring each of the data center campuses’ warehouses to have a minimum 500-foot building separation between them and the nearest residential or commercial structure. Project Steel is 1,670 feet from houses on Corneils Road.

Once each individual warehouse is up and running, city staff believe they can each generate between $500,000 - $1,000,000 in annual tax revenues for the city’s coffers.

A significant portion of Project Steel is within the Plano School District 88’s boundaries. The city is making the developers build the first warehouses within Yorkville 115’s boundaries.

During the same meeting, City Council agreed to table the annexation vote for the 80-acre Meyer data center near the Caledonia subdivision for the next meeting.