ROCKFORD, IL — A proposal to place a temporary moratorium on data centers to allow time for staff to conduct a review of best practices for their regulation and requirements died for lack of a second during a July 27 Code & Regulation Committee meeting.
The measure was proposed by Ald. Jonathan Logemann, D-2, who chairs the committee and was absent. Ald. Aprel Prunty, D-6, made the motion to approve the measure, but no one else on the committee would support it.
Rockford City Administrator Todd Cagnoni said the proposal is expected to return to a Code & Regulation Committee meeting agenda in two weeks.
The measure would direct city staff to conduct “a comprehensive review of best practices and evaluate potential regulations related to the development, expansion and operation of data centers.”
Mayor Tom McNamara had supported it as a way to make sure any future data centers would be “evaluated through a thoughtful and informed approach.”
Although there has not been a formal proposal brought forward, city officials have said a moratorium would not be enough to slow a potential data center being sought by San Diego-based Monarch Energy for land south of the Chicago Rockford International Airport under terms of an already approved annexation agreement.
But it could lead to the development of regulations and requirements for data centers.
Although a data center could mean tens of millions of dollars in property taxes, some residents have voiced concerns that they drive up electricity prices, consume too much water and present an environmental hazard.
There was no discussion about the moratorium proposal during the July 27 meeting as some members of the committee wait for a competing measure to appear on an agenda.
Ald. Tamir Bell, D-13, told members of the committee that a proposal he has been working on with the city’s legal department for weeks he calls “Our Voice, Our Future” is now ready.
It would call for the creation of a data center framework, seeking to establish standards for water consumption, traffic impact, energy usage, community benefit and quality of life impacts for data centers proposed in the city.
That measure could also appear on the next Code & Regulation Committee agenda.
After hearing about Bell’s proposal, Ald. Mark Bonne, D-14, attempted to second the moratorium, but it was too late.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford moratorium on data centers could return from dead
Reporting by Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star | USA TODAY Network
