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The Data Center Divide

City of Joliet

Pro-Data Center Policies

Joliet approved a data center project with plans that can override conflicting city rules and remain protected if nearby land is rezoned. The project also faces water and sewer limits, restrictions on generator testing, and $100 million in city contributions.

current law · City of Joliet
Approves a large Joliet data center campus and sets site-specific limits on water and sewer use, generator testing hours, noise, and emergency planning.Joliet Technology Center Annexation and Development Agreement Resolution (File 178-26)

What this means

The measure gives the project zoning approval for data centers and protects its plans if nearby land is later rezoned, while allowing the approved terms to take priority over conflicting city rules (the project may include data center campuses; the approved plans govern conflicts). But it also imposes water and sewer limits, restrictions on generator testing, and substantial payments to the City (water-use limits; $100 million in contributions). Overall, the approvals and protections are a substantial boost, though the costs and operating conditions keep the score below the highest level.

People behind it

  • Developer and applicant that submitted the zoning, preliminary planned unit development, and preliminary plat applications; party to the Annexation and Development Agreement.

  • Municipal party to the Annexation and Development Agreement and governmental authority approving and administering the annexation, zoning, and development measures.

  • Conducted the required public hearings and recommended approval of the annexation zoning, Preliminary PUD, and Preliminary Plat.

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  • Authorized to execute the Annexation and Development Agreement on behalf of the City and identified as part of the authority enacting the ordinance.

  • Corporate authority that adopted the annexation, zoning, and preliminary planned development measures.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements16

  • The project cannot proceed under the ordinance unless the property is annexed to Joliet by April 1, 2028; the annexation agreement requires the developer to deliver a closing notice by April 1, 2027, unless it pays $10 million for each of up to two six-month extensions.

  • The preliminary PUD and plat approvals expire if, within five years after adoption of the zoning ordinance, the developer has not obtained final engineering, final PUD, and final plat approvals for at least the first project phase.

  • Data centers and related improvements must be developed in the I-1 Light Industrial District and in substantial conformance with the approved preliminary and final PUD plans, plats, engineering plans, and applicable City regulations.

  • Before applying for a final subdivision plat or building permit for a phase, the developer must submit final engineering plans for City approval; final PUD plans and plats are also required before construction can proceed.

  • The developer must construct, at its own expense, required sanitary sewer, water, stormwater, and roadway infrastructure, with applicable public improvements completed before certificates of occupancy are issued.

  • Before any site-development or building permit is issued, the developer must submit an emergency-services plan addressing power and generators, fire suppression and water, hazardous materials, access control, severe weather, evacuation, emergency coordination, information sharing, lighting, and signage.

  • City potable water may not be used for evaporative cooling or other manufacturing processing, and annual average consumption is capped at 150,000 gallons per day with peak use capped at 300,000 gallons per day; excess usage is charged at three times the applicable rate.

  • Discharge to the City sanitary sewer is capped at 50,000 gallons per day on an annual average basis and 300,000 gallons per day at peak, non-domestic waste requires an industrial pretreatment permit, and excess discharge is charged at three times the applicable rate.

  • Data-center generators must comply with applicable federal and state permits, Illinois EPA air-emission standards, and Illinois Pollution Control Board noise standards; except for necessary maintenance, generator exercising is limited to 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m.

  • Each phase must include noise-reduction measures sufficient to meet Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations and, when applicable, industrial-scale berms, natural buffers, setbacks, and modern building techniques.

  • Each phase must include a photometric plan complying with the City's lighting-luminance requirements, and screening is generally required along Data Center Project property lines, with screening between 10 and 20 feet high unless an easement prevents placement.

  • The developer must contribute $20 million after delivering the closing notice and $20 million before building permits for each of four assumed sub-campus phases, for a total of $100 million; if there are fewer phases, the remaining $80 million is divided among them.

  • The developer must pay applicable building-related development impact fees, reimburse $35,360.71 in district-disconnection fees, pay $514,054.60 in specified recapture fees, and pay other applicable utility, permit, and connection charges.

  • The developer must post letters of credit securing required sanitary sewer, water, stormwater, and roadway improvements, followed by maintenance guarantees after individual improvements are completed.

  • The City will not issue a certificate of occupancy until stormwater, sanitary sewer, and potable water service are available and the public improvements associated with the applicable phase are complete.

  • The developer must comply with the executed Project Labor Agreement with the Will-Grundy Building Trades Council in connection with development of the property.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions25

  • The approximately 795-acre property is annexed for zoning to the I-1 Light Industrial District, with data center uses permitted on Lots 1 and 2 and electrical-substation and related utility uses permitted on Lot 3. permitted uses and improvements

  • The Preliminary Planned Unit Development, Preliminary Plat, engineering plan, and sample building elevations are approved, allowing the project to proceed using the approved development framework before final plans are completed. Preliminary PUD and Preliminary Plat are hereby approved

  • The developer may build the property in phases at its discretion, and the exact size and number of data center buildings may change in the final plans. permitted to develop the Property in phases at its discretion

  • The project approvals remain effective if adjacent property is later rezoned to allow residential uses or overnight stays. notwithstanding any future rezoning by the City of property adjacent

  • If the agreement, PUD ordinance, preliminary plans, or approved final plans conflict with later zoning, subdivision, or other city regulations, the project-specific documents control. the former shall in all cases govern and control

  • Developer rights under the PUD ordinance vest after delivery of the closing notice and payment required by the agreement, subject to the final-plan deadlines; ComEd rights vest after acquiring Lot 3 and making the required payment. Developer’s rights under the Rezoning and PUD Ordinance shall be deemed vested

  • The developer may perform demolition, excavation, preliminary grading, filling, and soil stockpiling after closing notice and before final PUD or building-permit approval, subject to submitting satisfactory plans, paying fees, and posting required security. undertake, at Developer’s own risk, demolition of structures, excavation, preliminary grading

  • City staff must review final engineering plans and either approve them or provide written comments within 30 business days. within thirty (30) business days

  • Complete final subdivision applications must be acted on by the Plan Commission within 60 days, and final plats must be acted on by the City Council within 60 days after Plan Commission action. within sixty (60) days after submittal

  • The City must issue complete building-permit applications within 30 business days or provide written reasons for denial, and permits may be issued in separate phases for grading and utilities, foundations, building shells, and interiors. issue building permits

  • The City must issue compliant certificates of occupancy within 10 business days or identify required corrections, and it may issue temporary certificates for weather-dependent unfinished work when adequate security is posted. issue a certificate of occupancy

  • The developer may request extensions of the annexation deadline twice for six months each by paying $10 million per extension, with each payment credited against the later required city contribution. two (2) options to extend the Expiration Date

  • The City must assist with acquiring necessary off-site easements or rights-of-way through eminent domain if the developer makes commercially reasonable efforts but cannot obtain them; the developer reimburses the City’s related costs. the City shall assist the Developer by exercising its eminent domain authority

  • Stormwater facilities may be constructed phase by phase and may be located on portions of the property that have not yet received final-plan approval. provide detention on a phase-by-phase basis

  • No municipal water towers or tanks are required from the developer. No municipals water towers or tanks are required

  • The City will determine which sewer, water, stormwater, and roadway improvements are public improvements eligible for dedication and acceptance by the City, while other facilities may remain privately owned and maintained. shall be constructed by Developer ... and dedicated to the City

  • For Schweitzer Road, the developer need only provide a letter of credit or cash escrow for future improvements rather than construct the road improvements itself. Developer shall not be responsible for constructing the improvements to Schweitzer Road

  • The developer may petition to vacate the portion of Bernhard Road within the project, and the City Council must act on a complete petition within 90 days. approve the vacation of Bernhard Road

  • A recapture agreement will allow the developer to recover proportionate shares of roadway and related public-improvement costs from benefiting properties for at least 20 years. reimburse Developer for their proportionate share

  • City potable water may be used for fire suppression, domestic uses, humidification, initial filling and limited maintenance of closed-loop cooling systems, and irrigation, subject to approval and the stated 150,000-gallon average and 300,000-gallon peak daily limits; evaporative cooling and other manufacturing processing are prohibited. Potable water supplied by the City may be utilized

  • The data center project may use multiple buildings on a single lot, and its loading-dock parking requirement is reduced from six spaces per building to two. Multiple buildings are permitted on a single lot

  • The data center project receives parking flexibility because data center parking requirements are currently undefined, may use 40-foot driveway aprons, and may make approximately 5,180 linear feet of Bernhard Road private. allowance for 40' driveway aprons

  • Security fencing is authorized around the data center perimeter and substations, including fences up to 10 feet for the data center and expanded-metal substation fencing up to 11 feet plus 12-inch Y-shaped barbed wire, notwithstanding specified fencing restrictions. max. 10’ high foot black aluminum picket fence

  • The Lot 3 electrical substation is exempt from minimum accessory parking and loading requirements, may use gravel in substation areas and internal drives, and is exempt from specified underground-utility, rear-easement, tree-preservation, fence-height, and hydrant-distance requirements, subject to the listed utility-security and engineering conditions. No minimum accessory off-street parking or loading is required

  • The agreement remains binding for 20 years, and expiration of that term does not invalidate the annexation, zoning, PUD, subdivision approvals, or ordinances adopted under the agreement. binding upon the Parties ... for twenty (20) years

Sources

pending · City of Joliet
Allows a 795-acre data-center campus in Joliet, while capping water use and sewer discharge, prohibiting potable water for evaporative cooling, and requiring noise, lighting, and screening controls.Joliet Technology Center Annexation, Zoning, Planned Unit Development, and Preliminary Plat Ordinance (File 179-26)

What this means

The measure would enable a large data center campus by approving its zoning and preliminary development plan, with exceptions such as allowing multiple buildings on one lot and fewer loading spaces per building (Data Center Project exceptions). It also imposes meaningful operating limits, including caps on water use and sewer discharge and a ban on using city drinking water for evaporative cooling (Potable Water), so the overall effect is positive but not unrestricted.

People behind it

  • Developer and successor-in-interest to HW Technology Park Development, LLC; submitted the application for annexation, I-1 zoning, and preliminary planned unit development.

  • Contract purchaser and petitioner that proposed the annexation and Joliet Technology Center preliminary planned unit development.

  • Executive Vice President of HW Technology Park Development, LLC and the identified petitioner/contact for the annexation and planned unit development applications.

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  • Director of Community Development who prepared the staff memorandum and administration recommendation for City Council adoption.

  • Conducted the public hearing and recommended approval of the annexation, zoning, preliminary planned unit development, and preliminary plat.

  • Concurred with the Plan Commission recommendation and recommended that the Mayor and City Council adopt the ordinance.

  • Adopted the ordinance approving the annexation, I-1 zoning, preliminary planned unit development, and preliminary plat.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements12

  • The data-center project must first be annexed into Joliet and zoned I-1 Light Industrial; the ordinance does not become effective unless annexation occurs by April 1, 2028.

  • Each development phase requires separate City approval of final engineering plans, final planned-unit-development plans, and final plats; the preliminary approvals expire if the developer does not obtain those approvals for at least the first phase within five years after adoption.

  • Final plans for each phase must include noise-reduction measures sufficient to meet Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations, including industrial-scale berms, buffers, setbacks, or modern building techniques when applicable.

  • Each phase must submit a photometric plan, and lighting must comply with Joliet’s restrictions on luminance visible from neighboring properties.

  • Average sanitary-sewer discharge is capped at 50,000 gallons per day and peak flow at 300,000 gallons per day, excluding specified fire-suppression testing and Lot 3 restroom facilities; non-domestic waste requires an approved industrial pretreatment permit.

  • The project must install a master sanitary-sewer meter, and exceeding the sewer-flow limits subjects the applicable owners’ association to charges at three times the normal rate for the excess.

  • City potable water may be used only for listed purposes such as fire suppression, domestic use, humidification, approved initial filling or flushing of closed-loop cooling systems, approved maintenance, and landscape irrigation; evaporative cooling and other manufacturing processing are prohibited.

  • Average potable-water consumption is capped at 150,000 gallons per day and peak use at 300,000 gallons per day, with at least 15 calendar days’ notice required before initial cooling-system filling or flushing; excess use incurs charges at three times the applicable rate.

  • The project must install a master water meter or City-approved multiple meters, and the applicable owners’ association remains liable for project water charges, except for Lot 3 water charges.

  • Data-center generators must comply with all applicable federal and state permits, including IEPA air-emissions standards and Illinois Pollution Control Board noise standards; except for necessary maintenance, generator exercise must occur between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

  • Appropriate screening must be installed along Data Center Project property lines, unless an existing easement prevents it; acceptable screening includes a solid wall, an evergreen planting at least 15 feet deep, an earthen berm, or another year-round visual and noise barrier, generally 10 to 20 feet high.

  • The developer is responsible for project improvements and obligations not assigned to ComEd, while ComEd’s responsibility is limited to Lot 3 and related Rowell Road curb cuts and utility connections.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions22

  • The approximately 795-acre property is annexed and zoned I-1 Light Industrial, allowing the data center project to proceed under the City’s industrial zoning framework.

  • The ordinance approves the Preliminary Planned Unit Development, preliminary plat, engineering plans, and sample building elevations for the project.

  • Data center uses and related improvements are expressly permitted on Lots 1 and 2 without requiring a separate special-use approval.

  • Electrical substations, switching facilities, transmission equipment, and related utility infrastructure are expressly permitted as part of the Power Project on Lot 3.

  • The developer may build the project in phases at its discretion, with the preliminary approvals remaining effective if final approvals for at least the first phase are obtained within five years of adoption.

  • The project may continue under the ordinance and approved plans even if the City later rezones adjacent property to allow residential uses or overnight stays.

  • If the ordinance, approved plans, or later final plans conflict with existing or future City zoning, subdivision, or other regulations, the ordinance and approved plans control.

  • The ordinance allows multiple data center buildings to be constructed on a single lot.

  • Each data center building may have two loading-dock parking spaces instead of the six otherwise required for the I-1 district.

  • The project receives an exception allowing 40-foot driveway aprons, exceeding the otherwise applicable commercial driveway-width standard.

  • Approximately 5,180 linear feet of W. Bernhard Road may be made private for internal project circulation.

  • The project may use perimeter black aluminum picket fencing up to 10 feet high and interior substation fencing up to 11 feet high with 12 inches of Y-shaped barbed wire, subject to the ordinance’s stated locations and security conditions.

  • Interior substation fencing is exempt from specified chain-link, fence-height, and front-yard restrictions.

  • The public-utility owner of Lot 3 is exempt from minimum accessory parking and loading requirements for the electrical substation.

  • Lot 3 may use gravel for substation areas and interior driveways rather than paving those areas, although driveway aprons along Rowell Road must be paved.

  • Lot 3 is exempt from requirements that utility facilities be placed underground, that a 10-foot public-utility easement be provided along rear lot lines, and that fire hydrants be located within 350 feet of every structure, with final hydrant spacing determined during engineering.

  • The Lot 3 ComEd owner is not responsible for project obligations outside its lot, including broader PUD, plat, infrastructure, and parkway-tree obligations; those obligations remain with the developer.

  • The ordinance authorizes potable City water for fire suppression, domestic use, humidification, approved initial filling and flushing of closed-loop cooling systems, approved system maintenance, and landscape irrigation, while prohibiting potable water for evaporative cooling and other manufacturing processing.

  • The project may operate with average annual potable-water use up to 150,000 gallons per day and peak daily use up to 300,000 gallons per day, excluding specified fire-suppression testing and Lot 3 restroom use; excess use is subject to a 3x service charge.

  • The project may discharge an average of up to 50,000 gallons per day to the City sanitary sewer and a peak of up to 300,000 gallons per day, subject to pretreatment-permit requirements for non-domestic waste; excess discharge is subject to a 3x sewer charge.

  • Generators may be exercised under applicable federal and state permits, including IEPA air-emissions and Illinois Pollution Control Board noise standards, with exercise generally scheduled during daytime business hours except for necessary maintenance.

  • The ordinance remains effective only if annexation occurs by April 1, 2028; once effective, its approvals run with the land and bind successor owners.

Sources

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