Yorkville City Council approves annexation and rezoning for more data centers

The Yorkville City Council furthered the area’s transition away from its agricultural past, unanimously approving the annexation and rezoning of 286-acres of unincorporated farmland. Their action at the Aug. 13 City Council meeting paves the way for the construction of two large data center campuses.

Data center campuses are attractive to city planners because their immense energy consumption rates can generate millions in tax dollar revenues once each building is fully operational.

“This has the potential to secure funding for the long time future and for the school district,” said Mayor John Purcell told the council.

The council approved Chicago-based developers, Green Door Capital’s request to annex and rezone the Hagemann Property, 138-acres of farmland located east of Eldamain Road and north of Corneils Road. It also approved Green Door Capital’s request to annex and rezone the Kelaka Property, 148-acres of farmland located south of the Santa Fe railroad and east of Eldamain Road.

The rezoning has produced contentious public hearings, with some local homeowners raising concerns at the July 23 City Council meeting. A lawyer representing three homeowners of adjacent properties argued the rezoning would diminish their property values and force them to move. The lawyer said the families were not being fairly compensated by Green Door Capital, preventing them from buying adequate relocation homes.

Earlier this Summer, the City Council approved rezoning a separate 228-acre property for the construction of a data center campus containing nine two-story buildings and an electrical substation by Texas-based developer CyrusOne.

Yorkville City Administrator Bart Olson has said each of the nine buildings, once fully operational, will generate $1 million in tax revenues for the City.

Kendall County is experiencing the fastest population growth in the state, re-sculpting both the landscape and the infrastructure necessary to accommodate diversifying community needs.

According to Yorkville’s future planning agendas, city planners will continue considering annexing unincorporated areas of Bristol Township for potential industrial rezoning.

In order to annex, the properties need to be contiguous with properties previously annexed or within Yorkville city limits. All property annexations must be voluntary by the existing property owners. However, once developers carve out surrounding properties, homeowners who refused to originally sell are faced with limited choices.