LUC backs data center moratorium

Evanston’s Land Use Commission backed a proposed one-year moratorium on data center approvals within the city Wednesday night. The proposed zoning change now heads to City Council, where it seems likely to pass . While City Manager Luke Stowe has previously said there is currently a “de facto” moratorium on data centers, Liza Roberson-Young, the city’s chief legislative policy advisor, told LUC members the ordinance would essentially codify that moratorium. During that one-year pause, city staff would look into the impacts of data center, including on water and energy usage, infrastructure needs, greenhouse gas emissions and noise levels, Roberson-Young said. Staff would then recommend a long-term legislative framework, including regulations or a ban. The ordinance will not affect previously approved projects,” said Roberson-Young. “It is prospective-looking only.” Some LUC members questioned whether a year would be enough for staff to study the issue and gather all the data needed to make a recommendation. Roberson-Young said one year was a good starting point, noting the moratorium was based off the approach used by Aurora, which initially imposed a 180-day pause on new data centers last fall, before enacting new regulations on those facilities. “I think a year is good to set an initial deadline and hold us accountable, and if we can’t get it done in that time, then we can ask for more time,” she said. The proposed moratorium was initiated by a referral from Ald. Krissie Harris (2nd), and co-sponsored by Alds. Clare Kelly (1st), Bobby Burns (5th), Parielle Davis (7th) and Matt Rodgers (8th). It came after a small-scale data center was proposed in the 2nd Ward, at 1265 Hartrey Ave. The proposed legislation would not apply to the current zoning analysis application for that site, according to Jeremiah Bebo, the city’s zoning administrator. No decision has been made for that proposal since it’s been deemed incomplete by the city. However, he said that the proposed facility “looked, felt, smelled” like a data center, and regardless of the proposed moratorium, they likely wouldn’t be able to approve it. Related