Planning commission backs allowing data centers in limited M‑2 area near Atrium

The Rolling Meadows Planning and Zoning Commission recommended 4-0 that City Council approve a text amendment to add a definition of "data center" and allow such facilities as a permitted use in a limited portion of the M‑2 district adjacent to the Atrium office complex. The recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for first reading on Nov. 10.

Staff planner Cole told the commission the amendment is narrowly targeted to one subset of M‑2 where infrastructure and isolation make the use appropriate. "At 240 megawatts, which is the capacity that's being studied for this site, that would be one of the larger centers announced or planned in the metropolitan area," Cole said, noting the city has water capacity and that the outstanding question is electrical delivery. He said an electrical interconnection study — which Cole estimated at roughly $1,000,000 in the record — is pending with results expected in about 60 days.

Developer representatives sworn for the hearing described the project as a phased build. Kevin Brennan of Brennan Investment Group and Brian Tanner of KBC Advisors said typical operator staffing is limited compared with other commercial uses and that construction employment would be substantial during multi‑year buildout. "Most [operators] will commit to, like, on a per‑building basis, 25 full time employees per building," Tanner said, adding larger numbers of skilled construction workers are typical during buildout.

Local resident Dylan Seymour testified during public comment that the staff memo relied on limited sources — notably a Virginia legislative study and a 2007 highway-traffic noise comparison — and urged the commission to seek more local, multi‑source data on noise and utility impacts before widening the use. "I think that there's some flaws in the reasoning in the data presented," Seymour said. Cole responded that the Virginia review is a professionally prepared, neutral legislative analysis and stressed Illinois Pollution Control Board industrial-noise standards remain enforceable and would apply to any facility that is built.

The commission's vote was to recommend the amendment to City Council; the council will consider the ordinance at first reading on Nov. 10. The recommendation is a zoning change and does not complete utility or environmental permitting, which the developer will need to secure separately.