Sugar Grove trustees move to make data centers a special use amid water, noise and energy concerns

The Sugar Grove Village Board on June 2 directed staff to prepare a text amendment that would change how data centers are treated in the village’s zoning code, signaling a preference to classify data centers as a special use in the M1 and I1 districts rather than leave them as a permitted use.

Danny Marian, community development staff, opened the presentation by reviewing the village’s existing data center district (adopted in 2022), noting there are currently no parcels zoned DC. He summarized code elements in the DC district—minimum lot size, building materials and screening standards, a 65-foot maximum building height, and a wastewater limit the code expresses as 6 PE (person-equivalents) per acre.

Marian outlined the economic case staff had found: data centers can generate high property and utility tax revenues and one-time infrastructure payments that have funded school and municipal improvements in other communities. He also identified common concerns: water use, high electricity demand, noise (particularly generator testing), visual impacts and distance from residential neighborhoods.

Trustees repeatedly raised water- and energy-related risks. Several members asked how to ensure data centers do not accelerate depletion of local aquifers or shift long-term costs onto residents. Marian told the board the village can require annual water and electricity reporting and use meter-based verification: "We have smart meters where we can monitor the water ourselves, so we don't have to rely on the corporation to determine the water," he said.

Trustees and staff discussed regulatory tools. Marian enumerated options: converting M1 and I1 data-center allowances to special use (adding public hearings and site-specific conditions); adding distance-from-residential buffers; imposing decibel limits and restricted generator-testing windows (Aurora’s 9 a.m.–5 p.m. weekday limit was cited as a model); requiring development agreements or PUDs that include LEED or energy-certification conditions; and implementing commercial water rates or meter-size fees.

Board members repeatedly framed the core policy tradeoff: permitted status provides predictable rules that attract investment, while special-use status grants the village more control to attach conditions and give residents a stronger voice. Staff warned that making data centers a special use would likely reduce the number of proposals but would increase the village’s ability to impose conditions.

Trustees asked staff to return with more detailed proposals: the full text of Aurora’s ordinance and building-code measures, options for enforcing water and electricity reporting, model development-agreement language, and legal analysis on what can be required in existing PDD/TIF areas. Marian said he would bring that material back for a future meeting.

Next steps: staff will prepare formal ordinance language to change the M1 and I1 tables to make data centers a special use and will research Aurora’s ordinance language, energy-code options (including relevant ICC/IECC appendices), and enforceable water- and electricity-monitoring and fee structures. The discussion was left open for further public input and more detailed staff recommendations.