Planning Commission recommends making data centers a special use in I1 district

The Planning Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals voted on May 20 to recommend approval of Text Amendment 26-004 to Title 11, which would revise the table of permitted uses to make data centers a special use in the I1 (industrial) district rather than a permitted by-right use. Staff presented the amendment and said the change is intended to require projects to come before the board for site-specific conditions and review.

Staff explained that the village’s existing Planned Development District (PDD) approvals — including the Crown PDD north of the tollway — would not be affected because those approvals already allow data centers by right within those PDDs. "So no changes that come in the future or this change will affect any existing PDDs or PUDs that have data centers already written into that," staff said during the presentation.

Commissioners framed the amendment as a temporary measure to allow more oversight while the village and the board consider longer-term updates to data center regulations. One commissioner said the goal is to "protect ourselves through the whole process" while not sending a message that the village is dismissive of potential businesses. Staff identified topics likely to be emphasized in future review, including water use, noise restrictions, and minimum distances from residential areas.

During public comment, resident Janice Colbert Rubins said she moved to Sugar Grove for open space and asked how data centers would be powered and how they would affect residents’ bills, water and town character. "I am incredibly concerned about data centers," she said. She added that recent reporting and conversations with an engineer family member led her to worry about local power and water capacity. Resident Bill Cavanagh urged the commission to consider the scale of power draw and diesel backup emissions, saying the industry’s demand could compete with large metro areas for electricity and affect local air quality.

The commission closed the public hearing, took a motion and voted to recommend the amendment as presented. The chair announced that the motion passed and recorded the vote as passing. The recommendation now goes to the village board for final consideration; staff said the village board will determine next steps and any further ordinance language or conditions.

Claims made by public commenters about specific power and household-equivalent figures were raised during the hearing; staff and commissioners did not verify those figures during the meeting. Those claims are reported here as statements made in public comment and were not substantiated on the record.