It’s unclear whether the Sangamon County Board can, or will, delay a vote for six months or more on zoning, as some residents have requested, for what would be the county’s first data center.
But the board has taken a step to broaden discussion on the controversial proposal by scheduling a Dec. 3 public hearing. The board announced that the hearing will begin at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at the BOS Center at 1 Convention Center Plaza in downtown Springfield.
The hearing could last as long as six hours, County Board spokesperson Jeff Wilhite said.
The company that wants to build the $500 million data center in rural Talkington Township, Dallas-based CyrusOne, will be given 30 minutes to make a presentation during the hearing, Wilhite said. The Coalition for Springfield’s Utility Future, a citizens’ group that has opposed the data center and asked for a six-month moratorium on any County Board votes to allow for more debate and study, will have 30 minutes to make a presentation as well. Sangamon County government staff and other experts also will have 30 minutes for a presentation, Wilhite said.
The hearing will include time for County Board members to ask questions of various presenters, and there will be time for the public to ask questions and get responses, he said.
Members of the public are encouraged to sign up to speak ahead of time and can do so online at https://tinyurl.com/SangamonCountyBoard. People who want to speak also can sign up at the public hearing, Wilhite said.
County officials have set up a web page with links to news stories about the proposal and a question-and-answer section that is being updated regularly. That web page is https://tinyurl.com/SangamonDataCenter.
To move forward, CyrusOne would need to receive “conditional use” permit approval through a majority vote of the 29-member, Republican-controlled County Board. The soonest the board is expected to vote on the request is the board’s Jan. 13 meeting.
Related
The board first discussed the proposal at its Nov. 10 meeting. In addition to the Dec. 3 hearing, the public will be able to comment on the plan at the board’s Dec. 9 board meeting and at several County Board committee meetings.
Those committee meetings include the Zoning and Land Use Committee’s 5:45 p.m. meeting Nov. 20; the Zoning Board of Appeals’ 6:30 p.m. meeting Nov. 20; and the Zoning and Land Use and ZBA’s meetings on Dec. 18.
Anne Logue, a member of the Coalition for Springfield’s Energy Future, told County Board members during the public comment section of the board’s Nov. 10 meeting that she wants to see any new property taxes generated by the project to be guaranteed in writing so the company isn’t able to secure any drastic reductions in assessed valuation later.
Logue said she also would like the County Board to be required to get the 636 megawatts of power required to operate the center through renewable energy sources so the data center wouldn’t contribute to climate change through electricity produced with fossil fuels.
County Board Chair Andy Van Meter, a Springfield Republican, told Illinois Times he doesn’t know whether Logue’s requests would be within the County Board’s authority to grant.
And Assistant State’s Attorney Joel Benoit, the board’s legal adviser, told the board on Nov. 10 that the board could adopt a moratorium on zoning votes for data centers. But he said the moratorium wouldn’t protect the board in court if it were sued by someone claiming the delay was illegal.
Dean Olsen is a senior staff writer with Illinois Times. He can be reached at dolsen@illinoistimes.com, 217-679-7810 or www.x.DeanOlsenIT.