Data center facilities are conditional uses in the specified office, research, light-industrial, and industrial districts and planned development districts, requiring approval through the City's conditional-use process and potentially a development agreement with the City.

Conditional-use applications must include a weeklong baseline sound study, a third-party noise-modeling study, a third-party water-consumption and water-quality modeling report, and a third-party energy-consumption modeling report.

Evaporative chillers using potable water are prohibited.

Roof-mounted chillers must be at least 1,500 feet from residential, hospital, or educational uses, while ground-mounted chillers must be at least 1,000 feet away; the distances are measured to the applicable property line.

Roof-mounted chillers and generators, ground-mounted chillers and generators, and associated obsolete equipment must be removed when a data center is decommissioned and the use changes.

Roof-mounted generators are prohibited.

Generators must meet applicable state standards, including Tier 4 emissions standards, and must have vibration-isolation systems.

Generators must be at least 1,000 feet from residential, hospital, or educational uses, measured from the equipment yard to the applicable property line.

Data centers must limit constant noise at the property line to 57 dB(A) during the day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and 47 dB(A) at night, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., in addition to complying with federal and state noise rules.

Data centers must continuously monitor vibrations at intervals no greater than 500 feet along property lines located within 1,000 feet of residential, hospital, or educational uses.

Data centers must maintain a Power Usage Effectiveness ratio of no more than 1.2 and comply with whichever is most stringent among the latest adopted IECC, the latest published ASHRAE Standard 90.4 Sections 6 and 8, or applicable Illinois-specific data center energy requirements.

Nuclear-based energy, including modular nuclear reactors and small modular reactors, is prohibited.

Data centers must maintain a Water Usage Effectiveness ratio of no more than 0.2.

Roof-mounted mechanical equipment must be fully enclosed by a sound-attenuating screen or parapet at least as tall as the equipment, and ground-mounted mechanical equipment must be similarly enclosed by a sound-attenuating wall or enclosure.

New or expanded data centers must install either on-site renewable generation equal to at least 25% of peak electrical demand or on-site energy storage capable of supplying at least 50% of peak demand for at least 15 minutes.

An off-site clean-energy or storage alternative requires a City-approved third-party feasibility analysis showing that on-site compliance is infeasible because of site, safety, or grid-interconnection constraints.

Pre-2026 data centers that were permitted as warehouse, distribution, or storage uses may continue operating under that classification only until wholesale redevelopment; redevelopment involving demolition and rebuilding of at least 50% of a building's footprint must comply with all post-2026 data-center standards. Rebuilding after a natural disaster or fire is excluded from wholesale redevelopment.

Electronic storage data centers have a parking standard of one parking space per 7,000 square feet of gross floor area, and future sites must also accommodate land-banked parking required under the warehouse, storage, or distribution parking standard.

For data centers developed after March 25, 2026, backup generators must continue meeting the zoning standards, and generator testing is limited to 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, with no more than two generators tested simultaneously. Testing during power outages is excepted.

For post-March 25, 2026 data centers, replacement equipment, including generators, chillers, and screening, must meet the zoning standards.

All data centers must annually submit energy and water-use data through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and third-party-tested daytime and nighttime noise reports by April 1; the City must make the reported data public by June 1.

Violations of the responsible-data-center requirements may result in municipal fines of up to $1,000 per day per occurrence, in addition to other corrective action.

Data centers and data-center businesses possessing biometric identifiers or biometric information must publish retention and destruction policies and permanently destroy the information when its original purpose is satisfied or within three years of the person's last interaction, whichever occurs first, absent a valid warrant or subpoena.

Before collecting or obtaining biometric information, a data center or data-center business must provide written notice of the collection, purpose, and retention period and obtain a written release from the individual or authorized representative.

Data centers and data-center businesses may not sell, lease, trade, or otherwise profit from biometric identifiers or biometric information.

Disclosure or redisclosure of biometric information is restricted to consent, an authorized financial transaction, a legal requirement, or a valid warrant or subpoena.

Biometric identifiers and information must be protected using reasonable industry-standard care and safeguards at least as protective as those used for other confidential and sensitive information.

Covered data centers and data-center businesses must file an annual certificate of compliance by April 1, signed under penalty of perjury, covering compliance with BIPA and the ordinance, policies and safeguards, prior BIPA liability, and pending BIPA-related claims or investigations; the City may require an independent compliance audit upon reasonable cause.

Privacy-ordinance violations may result in administrative fines of $1,000 to $5,000 per violation, permit suspension or revocation for repeated or willful violations, and ineligibility for local tax incentives or development agreements during noncompliance.

Individuals aggrieved by a privacy-ordinance violation may bring a private action and recover $1,000 or actual damages for negligent violations, or $5,000 or actual damages for intentional or reckless violations, plus fees, costs, and other relief.

Data center facilities are eligible for approval as conditional uses in planned development districts and in office, research, and light-industrial and industrial areas, subject to the required application studies and performance standards.

Data centers that were allowed to operate as warehouses, distribution, or storage facilities before March 25, 2026, may continue operating under that prior classification unless the property undergoes wholesale redevelopment involving demolition and rebuilding of at least 50% of a building’s footprint.

A conditional-use authorization for roof-mounted or ground-mounted chillers, or generators, is not invalidated if a residential, hospital, or educational use is later established within the applicable 1,000- or 1,500-foot separation area.

Electronic storage data center facilities receive a parking standard of one parking space per 7,000 square feet of gross floor area, with additional land-banked parking required only to address potential future parking needs under the warehouse, storage, or distribution standard.

New or expanded data centers may satisfy the on-site clean-energy or resilience-storage requirement through approved off-site measures when a third-party feasibility analysis shows that on-site installation is infeasible because of site constraints, safety limitations, or grid-interconnection restrictions.

Data centers are allowed only as conditional uses in the specified Office, Research, Light Industrial, and industrial zoning areas and planned development districts, requiring approval by a specific City Council ordinance.

The Zoning Administrator may require a development agreement setting facility-specific regulations and performance standards as a condition of approval.

Applicants must submit a weeklong pre-development sound study, a third-party noise-modeling study, a third-party water-consumption and water-quality modeling report, and a third-party energy-consumption modeling report.

The water report must address water sources, average and peak demand, annual consumption, seasonal variability, water-use effectiveness, cooling systems, reuse and recycling, stormwater capture, leak controls, chemical additives, discharge, contamination risks, containment, monitoring, and emergency response.

Evaporative chillers using potable water are prohibited.

Roof-mounted chillers must be at least 1,500 feet from residential, hospital, or educational uses, measured from the nearest sound screen or parapet to the protected property's boundary.

Ground-mounted chillers must be at least 1,000 feet from residential, hospital, or educational uses, measured from the equipment yard to the protected property's boundary.

Roof-mounted generators are prohibited.

Generators must meet applicable state standards, including Tier 4 emission standards, and must have vibration-isolation systems.

Generators must be at least 1,000 feet from residential, hospital, or educational uses, measured from the equipment yard to the protected property's boundary.

Obsolete chillers, generators, and associated equipment must be removed when a data center is decommissioned and the use changes.

Facility noise may not exceed 57 dB(A) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or 47 dB(A) from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., as measured at the facility property line, in addition to applicable federal and state requirements.

Facilities must continuously monitor vibrations along property lines within 1,000 feet of residential, hospital, or educational uses, with monitoring points spaced no more than 500 feet apart.

Facilities must maintain a Power Usage Effectiveness ratio of no more than 1.2 and comply with whichever is most stringent among the latest IECC, ASHRAE Standard 90.4 Sections 6 and 8, or applicable Illinois-specific data-center energy requirements.

Modular nuclear reactors, small modular reactors, and other nuclear-based energy sources are prohibited.

Facilities must maintain a Water Usage Effectiveness ratio of no more than 0.2.

Roof-mounted mechanical equipment must be fully enclosed by a sound-attenuating screen or parapet at least as tall as the tallest equipment and compatible with the building's architecture, materials, and color.

Ground-mounted mechanical equipment must be fully enclosed by an approved sound-attenuating wall or enclosure at least as tall as the tallest chiller, generator, or associated equipment and compatible with the building's architecture, materials, and color.

New or expanded data centers must install either on-site renewable generation equal to at least 25 percent of peak electrical demand or energy storage capable of supplying at least 50 percent of peak demand for 15 minutes.

The energy-storage option must prioritize discharge during utility-declared peak events and grid emergencies to reduce localized grid impacts.

If on-site clean energy or storage is infeasible, an applicant must obtain City-approved third-party feasibility findings and use approved off-site renewable generation, distributed energy resources, or community-scale storage of equivalent value.

Pre-2026 data centers that were permitted as warehouse, distribution, or storage uses may continue operating under that classification only until wholesale redevelopment occurs; redevelopment involving demolition and rebuilding of at least 50 percent of a building's footprint must comply with all post-2026 data-center standards.

Data center parking is limited to one parking space per 7,000 square feet of gross floor area, while the site must also be designed to accommodate land-banked parking meeting the warehouse, storage, or distribution parking requirement.

Data centers are expressly recognized as a zoning use, including electronic-storage and cryptocurrency facilities, allowing projects to be reviewed under a defined regulatory category.

Data centers may be approved as conditional uses in Office, Research, Light Industrial, industrial, and Planned Development District areas, subject to the required application studies and City Council approval by specific ordinance.

The Zoning Administrator may require a development agreement covering applicable regulations and performance standards, with City staff authorized to negotiate and execute the agreement, providing a mechanism to establish project-specific requirements.

New or expanded data centers may satisfy the energy and resilience requirement through either on-site renewable generation or on-site energy storage; if on-site installation is infeasible, the applicant may instead use approved off-site renewable generation, distributed energy resources, or community-scale battery projects.

Pre-2026 data centers that were allowed as warehouses, distribution, or storage facilities may continue operating under that classification unless at least 50 percent of a building's footprint is demolished and rebuilt; rebuilding after a natural disaster or fire is excluded from the wholesale-redevelopment trigger.

A conditional-use authorization for roof-mounted or ground-mounted chillers and generators is not affected if a residential, hospital, or educational use is established later within the specified separation area.

Electronic Storage Data Center Facilities have a specific off-street parking standard of one space per 7,000 square feet, with additional future parking to be land-banked rather than immediately constructed, subject to the ordinance's stated requirements.