Urbana council forms advisory committee to study proposed data center, sets first meeting in April

Urbana’s City Council met March 31 in a special session to organize an advisory committee to study a proposed data center and the city’s moratorium on data-center development. Council members debated how large the panel should be, what expertise it should include and what questions the group should answer, and they scheduled an initial meeting for mid-April.

Council President Paul opened the meeting and members immediately differed on whether a committee was the right approach. Council Member Truelove said she would not serve because she did not believe a committee would change opinions or outcomes. Council Member Davis said the panel could only be useful if it received substantive information about the actual proposed building, and Council Member Scott argued the group should be small — five to seven people — so it could work efficiently and perform an “apples-to-apples” comparison of proposals.

Council Member Jumper pushed for an open recruitment process for citizen members and listed the specific topics she wants the committee to study: agricultural impacts; water supply and infrastructure; electrical infrastructure; environmental effects; noise; traffic and construction impacts; fiscal impact; transparency and resources; emergency and drought planning; and zoning and land-compatibility. She said she would serve on the committee and asked that another council member join her.

Members and public commenters emphasized the kinds of expertise the committee should include. Truelove recommended legal counsel and administrative staff participation; others urged including citizens and technical experts. A member of the public suggested inviting a representative of the project to explain what the developer intends. Council Member Thackery noted that site plans are typically unavailable during a moratorium, limiting what the committee could obtain from the developer.

Several members of the public raised substantive concerns. One attendee warned that advances such as quantum computing could change the relevance of large data centers within a few years; another warned that phased construction could result in ongoing activity for six to seven years. Joe Buckalew, who also offered to serve, pressed the council about legal exposure for committee members and whether the committee’s work would be treated seriously rather than as window dressing. Council members said they expected both factual findings and a recommendation from the committee.

President Paul reported outreach successes and potential participants: Superintendent Charles Thiel and County Commissioner Nino Vitale had accepted invitations to participate; Mr. Mitchell will act in an advisory role rather than as a voting member. Jumper provided an initial list of potential citizen members that included Judy Page, Bryce Carafa, Joe Buckalew, Brad Winner, Sharlon Conrad and Andi Grow. The council set a first meeting target of April 13 at 6:00 p.m.; a clerk’s note records that the meeting was later changed to April 14 at 6:00 p.m. because of room availability. Mr. Thackery asked that the committee provide quarterly updates to Council.

Members of the public urged the committee to do site visits to existing data centers to get a sense of noise and operations and to look to what other communities have compiled. Several public commenters asked whether developers could be required to cover studies and what parameters would define the committee’s charge.

The meeting concluded on a motion by Jumper, seconded by Scott; the council approved the adjournment by voice vote and left at 7:09 p.m.

What happens next: the council has agreed to form the Data Center Moratorium Committee, recruit citizen, staff and technical members, and begin meeting in mid-April; the committee is expected to deliver information and a recommendation back to Council with at least quarterly updates.