A group of residents in Yorkville said they aren’t letting the town construct around 3,000 acres of data centers without a fight.

Community members lined the downtown street along Town Square Park on Saturday, April 11, to raise the voices they said are being ignored by the city’s elected officials.

The Say No To Data Centers event brought together residents from different backgrounds united together for a common cause. They said no money the data centers are offering the city is worth the possible sound, light, and environmental pollution, especially during the 10-20 years of expected construction.

The city has been eyeing around a dozen separate data center projects along the Eldamain Corridor, including the already approved 1,034-acre Project Cardinal, the 540-acre Project Steel, and the 228-acre CyrusOne data center.

The city has touted the $500,000 to $1 million each individual building could generate in annual tax revenues.

The city has also said the development agreements between developers and the city will bring in millions more in revenue, including $51 million up-front from Project Cardinal, $40 million up-front to Project Steel, and $10 million up-front from the Meyer data center project.

Each up-front payment is subject to final project approval.

City Administrator Bart Olson previously said the money will be sent by the city to the Yorkville School District 115 for expanded facilities, the fire district, city projects, and charitable community organizations.

At City Council meetings, angry residents have bemoaned the city allowing the projects close to residential areas.

Residents have expressed concerns with quality of life being negatively impacted and what they say is a small-town feel of the Yorkville community forever being lost.

While the city is requiring all projects be at least 500 feet from the nearest residential or commercial structure, residents have said the setbacks and landscape berms still places their homes too close to the city’s planned “data center row.”

During the weekend protest, resident Leesa Poss, who has been a frequent critic of the city’s data center plans at City Council meetings, said the construction will have a severe long-term impact on the community.

“These projects affect our environment, infrastructure, property values, and overall quality of life, and those concerns deserve to be taken seriously,” Poss said. “Our community should have transparency, accountability, and a real voice in decisions that will shape our future, not decisions made behind closed doors or rushed through without adequate review.”

Poss said the event was designed to make sure the city’s elected officials heard their voices. She said the residents care deeply about issues affecting the community and “expect (their) concerns to be heard and addressed.”

Attorney hired for the fight going forward

Poss said a group of organized residents hired an attorney to help “ensure our voices and rights are properly represented.”

Poss said residents will continue to flood city meetings to voice their concerns and the group is already organizing additional public protests.

“We will continue to ask hard questions, and hold decision makers accountable,” Poss said. “We are not backing down.”