The next data center proposal in Yorkville has been tabled for another few weeks.

The City Council will not be taking a vote on the 80-acre Meyer data center, proposed near the Caledonia subdivision, at its April 14 meeting.

The developers, Yorkville Nexus V LLC, Green Door Capital, requested the vote be tabled to the April 28 meeting, according to the city.

What changes have been made near Caledonia?

The rezoning vote and the development agreement vote were previously on the agenda for the March 24 meeting, but the city council tabled the decision.

During that meeting, residents spoke out for several hours against data center projects in town, including the Meyer data center, with one resident saying, “nobody wants to live in data center row.”

Residents from Caledonia expressed concerns with possible sound, light and environmental pollution, in addition to the warehouses being so close to their homes.

Residents also spoke out against the 540-acre Project Steel data center, with 16 two-story warehouses. Project Steel was approved by the city during the March 24 meeting.

Resident Lori Tesco, who lives on Corneils Road, said she was concerned about the 10-20 years of construction and the increase in pollution and traffic data centers will cause in the area.

The strong public opposition, especially from residents of the Caledonia subdivision, contributed to the city’s planning and zoning commission unanimously rejecting the proposal on Jan 14.

The developers have since made large changes to the proposal saying, “we have listened to city and staff, we have listened to residents.”

The changes included leaving a 37-acre parcel, east of the Rob Roy Creek, stretching to the Caledonia, zoned for multi-family residence and donated to the city. The developers also downsized the middle 40-acre parcel to single-story warehouses.

The developers said an 8-foot landscape berm with trees will shield the campus from nearby residents. Residents said it would take decades for the trees to grow tall enough to serve this purpose.

The project’s site is south of Corneils Road and east of Beecher Road. The developers are requesting to rezone two western parcels totaling 91 acres to manufacturing for data center use.

Within the site plans is a 1,500-foot setback to the nearest residential structure in Caledonia and an agreement not to develop east of Rob Roy Creek.

Included in the Meyer data center plans, the developers have committed to a $10 million impact fee for the 80 acres of development. The developers have agreed to pay a “non-refundable prepayment of $1 million” at the recording of the proposed rezoning, according to city documents.

Similar agreements were approved by the city with the developers of Project Steel, and separately, the 1,034-acre Project Cardinal data center. City Administrator Bart Olson previously said the money is being sent by the city to the Yorkville School District 115 for expanded facilities, the fire district, city projects, and charitable community organizations.

During the meeting, Sean Reynolds of Green Door Capital said a PUD would be submitted at a later date after an end-user is found.

The petitioner is Matt Gilbert, who is representing Green Door Capital with other data center projects in town, like the already approved 228-acre CyrusOne data center with nine, two-story warehouses.

Protest planned

Several residents who have spoken out against the 3,000 acres of planned data center development have organized a public protest.

The “Say No To Data Centers” event is from 12 – 2 p.m. on Saturday at Town Square Park, Yorkville.

Organizers of the event posted the message, “Save our town. Save our air. Unite in the fight. Join in the protest.”