The Vermilion Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new data center development during its March 4 meeting, pausing certain permits while township officials review current zoning rules.
Trustees said the temporary pause will give the township time to study how large data processing facilities could affect the community before any proposals move forward.
What concerned trustees
Trustee Don Rowe said concerns about data centers are growing in many areas because of the amount of electricity they require and their potential impact on local infrastructure.
“There’s been a lot of pushback on data centers,” Rowe said. “You look at the electricity that is required to run these facilities. There are also concerns about noise, water consumption and what that means for the surrounding community.”
Trustee Ken Baughman said Vermilion Township’s existing zoning already limits where a data center could be built. He said facilities of that type would likely need access to utilities such as water and sewer service, which narrows the number of possible locations.
“There’s not a lot of land left for this,” Baughman said. “This is probably not something we need to go into crisis mode over.”
How the pause works
Trustees said the one-year pause will allow time to review the zoning code and decide whether additional regulations should be considered before any applications are submitted.
The moratorium will remain in effect for one year unless trustees lift it earlier or adopt new zoning language addressing data centers.
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