The Bloomington City Council on Tuesday approved a six-month moratorium on data centers.
The moratorium specifically applies to any facility designed with a capacity of greater than 5 megawatts. The Town of Normal approved a moratorium without such a stipulation earlier in May.
At least two public hearings on the topic must take place during the moratorium that was passed without much discussion or debate — and by unanimous vote.
“The idea behind this moratorium is so we can set up those regulations so we can do things like the city of Aurora has done, like the McLean County has done, and that I ask that we start those, those discussions and those set up immediately,” said council member Abby Scott.
City Manager Jeff Jurgens said the council could extend the moratorium beyond six months if desired.
Meeting conduct change
Also Tuesday, the council — meeting Tuesday because of the Memorial Day holiday — enacted an ordinance submitted by the mayor’s office to change rules pertaining to city code rules related to meetings.
The rule would address issues coming when amendments to a pending motion are brought before council during a meeting. Mayor Dan Brady said by requiring changes be submitted before noon on the day of a meeting, it would give legal and the clerk the time to thoroughly review any possible changes for feasibility and scope.
Council members Jenna Kearns and Mollie Ward both voted against the measure.
Ward argued the item would make the city council unable to pivot if substantive points are made during public comment that warrants a change.
“As it is proposed currently, this change would essentially rule out the value and the impact of any [resident] viewpoints, and the reason that it would do that is that it would prevent any of us from doing anything with whatever [public commenters] say,” she said.
Ward motioned to amend the rule to add three new lines of text for more clarification. The votes for changes to the wording failed 5-4 with Brady’s tie breaking vote, with council members who voted against the amendment saying they felt the current wording accomplished what Ward’s amended wording aimed to further clarify.
“We can call a special meeting for something that is urgent, and in five years [on the city council], I can't think of a time when this would have been a factor for us,” said council member Sheila Montney.
Enterprise zone additions
The city council also approved boundary modifications to the Bloomington-Normal Enterprise Zone.
The enterprise zone provides state and local tax incentives for businesses within the zone. The adjustment was made to include additional businesses not previously within the zone.
The motion approved Tuesday adds about 173 acres of new housing and retail parcels to the zone, the two largest of which are at Six Points Road and Jumer Drive. The Six Points addition is east of the new city fire station and has access for water and sewer. The Jumer Drive location includes the vacant lots of the Shirk Commercial Subdivision, from Veterans Parkway to Hershey Road. It is zoned for business and light manufacturing, but has not seen development for the past decade.
“That was supposed to be a Kroger. It has lapsed, they have been subdivided, nothing is happening,” said Kelly Pfeifer, director of development services. “They get a lot of interest from multifamily or mixed-use developers, so we want to add those areas onto this.”
A couple of stalled apartment complex sites also will be added. The area already included in the enterprise zone at The Links at Ireland Grove Road was expanded to include the site of the formerly-planned The Links apartment project, which was planned on Tullamore Avenue.
“It may not be apartment units, but we're hoping for some housing, that is still the plan,” said Pfeifer.
The site of the possible 56-unit Wittenberg Woods apartment complex at South Morris Road also was included.
“They're ready to break ground if the enterprise zone passes. So that's what these are about. We're really taking seriously the endeavor to get housing,” said Pfeifer.
Leslie Drive was included to aid in expansion of the Parke Regency Hotel and Conference Center in east Bloomington.
The new enterprise zone will now be 17.16 square miles, when it previously encompasses 16.89 square miles.
Park project
The council approved a $7.5 million agreement with Baxter and Woodman for the Sunnyside Park Sustainability Initiative, and an associated budget adjustment.
The project will bring over seven acres of ecological restoration, green infrastructure, nature play, an outdoor gym, interpretive signage and accessible design to Sunnyside Park in west Bloomington.
The move also includes an amendment to the capital improvement fund to utilize a Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District and Illinois Department of Natural Resources grant. BNWRD voted to increase its funding for the project after the bid was higher than expected.
Other business
— Approved a contract amendment with a 3.5% pay increase for Jurgens. The move increases his salary from $220,500 to $228,217 beginning May 1. The city council decided to offer the raise after a performance review completed in closed session on May 18.
— Approved a Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] with Unit 5 for a school resource officer program. The MOU dates back to 2011, when the school district agreed to contribute $50,000 for each Bloomington-provided school resource officer. Under the MOU, the school district will reimburse the city for up to 75% of the resource officer’s base salary, all overtime and up to $2,500 in training expenses. The city anticipates the total contribution to be $76,556 for the year, plus overtime.
— Granted Jurgens the authority to reach a settlement with a resident not to exceed $53,645. Ken Fornoff claimed that in early March, large amounts of sewage entered his home while public works crews attempted to clear a main line blockage. This resulted in losses in that amount to Fornoff’s home and belongings.
