Postponed: Public hearing for data center in Lisle delayed due to large turnout

Lisle residents will have to wait to sound off on a proposed data center.

The village’s planning and zoning commission decided to postpone a Wednesday night hearing due to the size of the crowd. More than 300 residents showed up for the 7 p.m. meeting, exceeding the 250-person capacity in the village board chambers and an overflow room set up for the meeting, Mayor Mary Jo Mullen said.

Cloud Centers LLC is proposing a 256,000-square-foot, 50-megawatt data center on the shuttered Lockformer property at 711 Ogden Ave. The 18-acre parcel on the south side of Odgen has sat vacant for more than 20 years.

The Lockformer property was the center of a firestorm after a toxic chemical used in the plant had leaked into the drinking water.

Mullen said it was “a really difficult time for Lisle” when the extent of the contamination became known.

“I think this makes it a really sensitive site,” she said. “We have to balance what’s right for the village, in a more holistic way, without doing any harm to our residents.”

On Thursday, a representative for Cloud Centers LLC could not be reached for comment.

Village Manager Jeffrey Cook said he did not anticipate hearing from the company until after the weekend.

“The property is one of the very few 10 to 20 acre sites in the Chicago region capable of providing approximately 50 megawatts of available and forecasted power,” project documents state. The ComEd-owned Lisle substation is located within approximately 500 feet of the property.

Lisle’s decision to postpone the public hearing comes one day after Naperville City Council members voted down a proposed data center.

Village officials are working to reschedule the public hearing, which requires a 15-day public notice. Cook said the proposal will not be discussed again until the new public hearing.

Residents who turned out at Wednesday’s public hearing booed a decision to postpone the meeting. Village officials, however, noted the town would be in violation of the state’s open meetings act if it did not provide an adequate space for the crowd.

Lisle’s decision to postpone the public hearing comes one day after Naperville City Council members voted down a proposed data center.

Village officials are working to reschedule the public hearing, which requires a 15-day public notice. Cook said the proposal will not be discussed again until the new public hearing.

The village has received nearly 250 emails regarding the proposed data center. The vast majority of comments were against the proposal, Cook said.

Residents opposed to the project say the location is too close to homes, noting that a subdivision across the street and a residential street on the southeast side of the property are within 300 feet of the proposed project.

“I don’t think it should be so close to residential,” Lisle resident Vanessa Berry said. “I’m not anti-data center, but being less than 300 feet away from homes seems dangerous, especially with all the diesel backup generators and the cooling systems … there’s got to be a better location for this one.”

Berry hosted a meeting in December to help organize neighbors and residents. While only one person attended that meeting, roughly 40 people showed up for a meeting she organized last week.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by all the enthusiasm from the neighborhood,” she said. “I’m glad the community is rallying behind this.”

While Mullen said it’s too early to take a position on the proposal, she suggested that perhaps a more regional approach or guidance from the state on data centers could be beneficial as the demand for such facilities continues to grow.

“I think there needs to be a more regional effort or a statewide effort to bring experts together to give clear guidance to municipalities to have a reasonable, safe development,” she said.

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