Urbana council takes no action on proposed data center settlement
Urbana City Council took no action on a proposed settlement with Thor Equities over the developer’s disputed data center project, delaying consideration until Oct. 20. The agreement could end Thor’s federal lawsuit but has drawn strong opposition from residents concerned about the moratorium, environmental impacts, utilities and the project’s scale.
About 100 residents attended the Urbana City Council meeting to oppose a proposed settlement with Thor Equities concerning its planned data center near Ohio 55 and U.S. 68. Council members reviewed the memorandum of understanding in executive session but took no action, with Council President Dwight Paul saying they needed more time and would revisit it at the Oct. 20 meeting.
Under the proposal, Thor would dismiss its lawsuit seeking more than $115 million, waive Community Reinvestment Area tax abatements and provide up to $50 million to the city as project phases advance. The agreement would also require environmental and utility studies, water and wastewater upgrades, emergency-response and cleanup guarantees, and local hiring efforts, while limiting the project to 2 million square feet subject to further zoning and site-plan review.
Opponents, including Data Center Moratorium Committee co-chairs Bryce Carafa and Joe Buckalew, urged the council to delay or reject the deal until the committee completes its work. The dispute follows the council’s March approval of a 12-month moratorium on new data centers and repeal of zoning rules permitting them; residents argue the proposed settlement could bypass those actions. Thor’s federal case, filed against Urbana and related city bodies, remains pending, while a proposed ballot measure would ban future data centers and voters will also decide whether to recall Mayor Bill Bean.