Lake County Moves Toward Data Center Moratorium
Lake County, Illinois, is on the verge of approving an eight-month moratorium on data center construction in its unincorporated areas. This pause will allow county staff to develop comprehensive regulatory guidelines, zoning classifications, and performance standards for future data center projects. The measure, recommended by a county board committee, comes amid growing nationwide scrutiny of data center development and public input.
Lake County, Illinois, is moving towards enacting an eight-month temporary moratorium on data center development within its unincorporated areas, a move reflective of a national trend toward stricter regulation of these facilities. A county board committee unanimously recommended the pause, which is expected to be approved by the full board during a vote scheduled for Tuesday. The moratorium's purpose is to give county planning staff time to research and draft comprehensive guidelines, including definitions, zoning classifications, performance standards, and review procedures, for data center development and operations.
Eric Waggoner, the county's director of planning, building and development, stated that staff would synthesize lessons from communities nationwide into regulatory guidelines and monitor proposed state legislation like the POWER Act, which aims to establish environmental, water, and energy regulations for large data centers. The initiative follows a packed public hearing and over 1,300 online public comments. Although Lake County has not yet received any data center applications, a 120-day administrative deferral of applications ends on October 7. The article also notes broader pushback in the Chicago data center market, citing a recent instance where Grayslake granted a building permit for a T5 data center campus, only for residents to file a lawsuit to block the project.