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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Development Minutes 2025 07-01-25APPROVED 8/5/25 Page 1 of 4 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Tuesday, July 1, 2025, 6:00pm East Conference Room #337 651 Prairie Pointe Drive, Yorkville, IL In Attendance: Committee Members Chairman Ken Koch Alderman Matt Marek Alderman Joe Plocher Alderman Rusty Hyett Other City Officials City Administrator Bart Olson Assistant City Administrator Erin Willrett via Zoom Community Development Director Krysti Barksdale-Noble Planner I Sara Mendez Senior Planner David Hansen Code Official Pete Ratos Alderman Chris Funkhouser via Zoom City Consultant Lynn Dubajic Kellogg Community Engagement & Marketing Coordinator Katelyn Gregory Administrative Intern John Burner EDC Intern Alexandria Sandoval Other Guests Daniel Gorman, Enterprise Energy Dave Silverman, Silverman & Cross Kelly Helland, Attorney Clayton Marker, Marker Inc. Ryan Anderson, Legacy Farms Patrick Winninger, CW Development-1115 Matt Christenson, 1115 LLC Debra Baumgartner via Zoom Gil Rios Rita Rios John Bryan, JP Shannon LLC Bernie Weiler, Mickey,Wilson David Schultz, HRG via Zoom Matt McCarron, Pioneer Jen Rakas via Zoom Ph: 630-560-3458 via zoom The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Chairman Ken Koch. Citizen Comments (Comments taken later in meeting) Minutes for Correction/Approval April 1, 2025 Special Meeting & May 6, 2025 Both sets of minutes were approved as presented. New Business 1. EDC 2025-46 Building Permit Reports for March - May 2025 Mr. Ratos reported the following. March had 16 single family detached permits, 9 single family attached and 15 commercial for a total of 84 permits. In April there were 10 single family detached, 9 single family attached and 12 commercial for a total of 153 permits. May had 4 single family detached and 20 single family attached permits. He said the trend is single family attached homes with many of them being built in Grande Reserve. Page 2 of 4 2. EDC 2025-47 Building Inspection Reports for March – May 2025 The number of inspections were as follows: March 406, April 611 and May 631. Mr. Ratos said that most were done in-house with the exception of a few plumbing inspections in March. 3. EDC 2025-48 Property Maintenance Reports for March – May 2025 Some complaints were received in March, however, they were rectified prior to any citations. In April a couple cases were heard and one was the Bluestem property which has numerous violations. Staff spoke with the property owner and encouraged him to have the grass cut and sent him copies of the liens regarding the work Public Works has done in addition to the Hearings. They add up to $21,000 - $26,000 over 3 years. In May, there were 2 cases that went to Hearing, however, they were dismissed since they became compliant. 4. EDC 2025-49 Economic Development Reports for April - June 2025 Ms. Gregory said there has been much development recently and she referred the committee to her report. She high-lighted the grand opening of Home Run Hot Dogs and Lemonade on July 6 in the former Iconic Coffee location. 5. EDC 2025-50 Project Cardinal – Pioneer (Data Center) – Annexation, Rezone, Preliminary PUD Plan and PUD Ms. Noble summarized this project that will be situated on 1,000 acres and will be built in phases with full buildout in 10 years. The development will be in 3 phases from west to east and determined by Com Ed's allocation of power. There are 4 parcels not included as part of the annexation petition, mostly along Baseline Rd. and the petitioner is negotiating with those property owners. Overall the rezoning request is for M-2. She discussed the land plan, utility corridors, drainage channels, landscape buffers, height restrictions, access points, fencing, parking requirements and EV chargers. The project should be operational within 24 months of groundbreaking. Thirteen deviations are identified. The developer will be required to design and construct a trail and they are also working with Kendall County on access points. A separate development agreement and infrastructure funding agreement will be done which will address community contributions, etc. A community meeting for nearby residents was also held by the petitioner. COMMENTS: Dave Silverman, attorney for the developer/Pioneer, was present and gave a brief statement about the project. They have considered comments from the neighbors and will be alleviating Ashe Rd. as an exit/entry point for the project. Twelve trees on the property will also be preserved and the landscaping will be enhanced on the interior to include grasses and trees. They considered the Rob Roy Creek and will work around that with no entrances on Rt. 47. The 4 parcels not in the original plan are now under contract. He said property values could actually decrease, contrary to some studies showing an increase. They will be supplying data as to the economic effect on properties surrounding data centers. Gil Rios, a resident, who lives on Galena Rd at the corner of E. Beecher Road, said he and his wife are concerned about the entrance into the data center. The map shows the entrance is going to be where the “old schoolhouse” is. Mr. Olson said the entrance is just west of the Undesser property. The entrance near E. Beecher Rd. is an emergency entrance so there will not be active traffic, said Mr. McCarron. Bernie Weiler represents the HOA on the west side of Ashe Road. He asked that the city take into consideration the planned dedication of 3,000 acres of land that will become data centers. He said that is a significant percentage of the land mass for a community of Yorkville's size. He said Yorkville is making a large mass inaccessible to traffic and the city needs to think about Page 3 of 4 what that means in terms of community development. He commented on the development having few trees. The prairie grass is a good start, but they would like to see reforestation in addition to grass. There is a narrow strip that surrounds the project with no landscaping on the interior making it very monotonous. Mr. Weiler also discussed the residents' concern of the building heights. Originally the height was 70 feet which he said is basically a 5 story building. He said they have had responses from the developer and city staff that are attentive to these concerns. As the PUD moves along, they want continued attention for these issues. Ryan Anderson from Legacy Farms said another concern is the size and scope of the proposed data centers. He believed it would be the largest in the world or country, however, Bart Olson said there are others that are larger. Mr. Anderson is concerned about the potential noise and what penalty would be incurred and about remediation. Mr. Olson said it would be handled like any ordinance violation and as a home-rule city, increased fines could be levied. He also said agreements would likely include requirements for extra remediation. John Bryan from Legacy Farms and owns other property in the area, said there has been talk of the infrastructure improvements Pioneer will bring. He said developers usually pay for the infrastructure so that is a moot point. Even if they run a water line or other utility, anyone that taps in pays an impact fee and the developer gets their money back. He also said Baseline Rd. was improved to a 24-year standard just last year, well before Pioneer was incorporated. He bought his property 20 years ago and it was zoned residential and still is. Del Webb was going to buy the property being discussed and then the recession hit. He also addressed the height restrictions. He asked if the 55 foot includes the height of a crane during construction and said that it would need flags due to the nearby airport. He asked if ingress/egress could be off Rt. 47 since there has been tree removal there already. He questioned why the construction would occur from west to east? He also questioned the need for so many parking spots when few people will be in the buildings and it takes prime land. He believes he will lose value in his home and living in an unincorporated area, he will see no economic benefit of the property that is in Yorkville. He feels it is taxation without representation. He referenced the recent heat wave and also the crisis in 1988. He knows the power for these data centers comes from solar farms in Iowa. If there are brownouts, he asked who would get the power--the data centers or the city or others industries in area and who will decide? ComEd should be asked, he said. The Aldermen also had questions about property lines, height restrictions, tree heights and when landscaping will be installed. Ms. Noble addressed these questions. Tree height requirements are detailed in the ordinance and landscaping will be installed before building starts to help insulate and buffer. Trees will only be planted along one side of the trail. The undulating trail itself will be designed, constructed and paid for by the developer. In general, the berms will be 8 feet tall, but could be higher in some locations. Plantings taller than required, were also requested. There will also be ongoing noise monitoring. Alderman Funkhouser asked if an easement will be provided at Baseline and Rt. 47 for gateway signage. Mr. Olson said discussions had been held regarding this. He also said he had looked at land surveys from the 1830's and 1870's and this site was a prairie. He would like the developer to consider clusters of trees from that era in addition to the prairie grasses. Mr. McCarron said that can be done provided it does not interfere with ComEd and ComEd will ultimately decide if power lines will be overhead. Ms. Noble said Project Cardinal will be presented at the Planning and Zoning meeting on July 9th and then at the City Council at the end of July at the earliest. There will be an update at PZC. Page 4 of 4 6. EDC 2025-51 Kendall County Petition 25-04 – 1.5 Mile Review (Gorman and Zepelak) David Hansen presented the information for this petition. It is a request for a special use permit and variance for a 1.5 mile review concerning a solar energy facility. The location is on Corneils Road a half mile east of Rt. 47. The property is 37 acres and is currently use for ag purposes. He also described the surrounding property. The petitioner reached out to the city about an annexation agreement in 2024 and the city was not interested at that time due to the location being near several homes. He discussed the increased setbacks and the updated site plan. The City still did not want to do a pre-Annexation Agreement and recommended the petitioner reach out to the county. The solar farm is a 5 megawatt and will have 5,000 solar panels with a security fence. A Comp Plan amendment would be needed. The PZC heard this case in June and recommended no objection to the request on a 5-1 vote. Other approvals have been given. This will move forward to the City Council on July 8th for a vote. Alderman Plocher asked the reason for non-recommendation and Ms. Noble said it did not meet the city setback requirements and due to the close proximity of residential. They had approached the city about annexation, but due to the setbacks not being met, the city was not in favor of the project. Mr. Plocher said he did not support this request for this reason. Mr. Gorman noted that the neighbors had been contacted early and they actively supported the request and at a community meeting, there was no opposition. Mr. Gorman said a formal vote at a township meeting received a unanimous vote in favor of the project. He said they are over 500 feet away from Corneils Rd. There is substantial screening on 3 sides and they will add additional screening. The parcel is not suited for residential and gets runoff from the field, but there is plenty of space for remediation. Mr. Gorman said it is a good project with benefit to the community and substantial tax revenue. The committee agreed that the project did not meet the city setbacks and the consensus of this committee was to take it to City Council for a final vote. 7. EDC 2025-52 Heartland Meadows West – Final Plat Ms. Mendez presented the information for this request and said the petitioner is requesting Final Plat approval. It consists of 20 single family residential lots for active adults and and 4 commercial lots. Minor requests from the city engineer will be addressed prior to the City Council meeting. Staff will establish the dormant SSA. This moves to the PZC on July 9th and to City Council on July 22nd. Attorney Kelly Helland requested a positive recommendation for the Final Plat. 8. EDC 2025-53 Fox Haven (1115, LLC) – Final Plat Mr. Hansen said this is being presented for Final Plat approval. Parcel 1 consists of 17 residential buildings on 13 acres zoned R-4 where townhomes will be built. The other parcel is zoned B-3. Engineering comments will be addressed prior to the City Council meeting. This item will go to PZC on July 9th and to City Council on July 22nd. A dormant SSA will established. Construction will start on the east side, moving to the west side. Old Business: None Additional Business: None There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at 7:08pm. Minutes respectfully submitted by Marlys Young, Minute Taker