While the public reviews Bloomington’s draft regulations for data centers, there have been questions over what penalties a developer or operator would face if they didn’t comply with the city’s requirements after the data center is up and running.
The proposed regulations separate data center projects into three categories: accessory, commercial and hyperscale.
- An accessory data center would be one that shares a building with an office, and its use is related to the business of that office.
- A commercial data center would be less than 10 acres and use less than 10 megawatts of power.
- Hyperscale centers would be anything larger than that. Hyperscale would require a special use permit to operate. The planning commission and council must approve the project and issue the permit. They also have the power to revoke that permit if the data center violates the city’s restrictions.
“That would certainly be one mechanism, but we want to make sure we have teeth in whatever mechanism we land on,” City Manager Jeff Jurgens said.
Under the proposed regulations, any data center must provide a long list of reports and plans for the data center’s use, operations, decommissioning and its impacts on electricity, and water use as well as complying with noise and vibration limits.
Small-scale commercial and accessory data centers would not be required to obtain a special use permit. If a center violates city requirements, the city can file suit in administrative or circuit court.
“You can make them get into compliance or stop the use,” Jurgens said.
Fines and fees
Under current zoning code, violations can result in a fine between $100 and $750 per day, plus the attorney costs and court fees. However, the proposed data center regulations strike out that portion of the code and refer to the city’s Schedule of Fees.
The Schedule of Fees, which was last updated on Sept. 29, does not appear to include a fine amount for code violations. There are fees associated with inspections for code compliance and fees associated with applying for special use permits.
“We anticipate the draft regulations being updated to reflect specific fines and penalties as opposed to a reference to the Schedule of Fees,” a spokesperson for the city said.
Despite the proposed amendment, the spokesperson said the city would adhere to the current zoning code violation fines of $100 to $750 per day, depending on the severity and type of violation, and they would not enact any new fine or fee structures.
There are two public hearings planned for the draft regulations. The first will be 4 p.m. Friday at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. The second will be at 4 p.m. Nov. 16 at the same location.
City staff anticipate making changes to the regulations based on the two planning commission sessions.
In a press release announcing the draft regulations, a city spokesperson said they anticipate the council will act on the regulations at its Nov. 23 meeting, a week before the six-month moratorium on data center proposals is set to expire.
The Town of Normal recently extended its moratorium. Jurgens said in a previous interview with WGLT that he does not anticipate extending the moratorium, but said it could happen if the council wants more time to review the regulations.
