HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 2025 11-10-251
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
KENDALL COUNTY, ILLINOIS
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
PUBLIC HEARINGS
651 Prairie Pointe Drive
Yorkville, Illinois
Tuesday, November 10, 2025
7 :00 p .m .
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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PRESENT: (In-person and via Zoom)
Mr. John Purcell, Mayor;
Mr. Ken Koch, Alderman;
Mr. Dan Transier, Alderman;
Mr. Arden Joe Plocher, Alderman;
Mr. Chris Funkhouser, Alderman;
Mr. Matt Marek, Alderman;
Mr. Rusty Corneils, Alderman;
Mr. Rusty Hyett, Alderman.
ALSO PRESENT:
Mr. Bart Olson, City Administrator;
Ms. Jori Contrino, City Clerk;
Ms. Monica Cisija, Deputy Clerk;
Ms. Erin Willrett, Assistant City
Administrator;
Mr. Rob Fredrickson, Finance Director;
Mr. Eric Dhuse, Public Works Director;
Mr. James Jensen, Chief of Police;
Mr. Tim Evans, Parks and Recreation
Director;
Ms. Krysti Barksdale-Noble, Community
Development Director;
Ms. Lynn Dubajic Kellogg, Economic
Development Director;
Ms. Katelyn Gregory, Economic
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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Development Coordinator;
Mr. Brad Sanderson, City Engineer;
Mr. Steve Redmon, Recreation
Coordinator;
Mr. Garrett Carlyle, Deputy Chief of
Police.
APPEARANCES:
OTTOSEN, DiNOLFO, HASENBALG & CASTALDO,
LTD.
BY: MR. MICHAEL CASTALDO, JR.
and
MS. KATHLEEN FIELD ORR,
2441 Warrenville Road, Suite 301
Lisle, Illinois 60532
(630) 682-0085
appeared on behalf of the United City of
Yorkville.
- - - - -
REPORTED BY: Christine M . Vitosh
Illinois C .S .R . License No. 084-002883
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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(WHEREUPON, the following
proceedings were had in public
hearing, commencing at 7 :04 p .m .
as follows:)
MAYOR PURCELL: We are going to have
three public hearings. Anyone is welcome to
speak if you want. First I open the public
hearing for the QuikTrip dormant SSA. We are now
in the QuikTrip dormant SSA public hearing. If
anyone would like to speak, please step to the
microphone.
(No response.)
MAYOR PURCELL: Anyone in Zoomland like
to speak? Please raise your hand. I am not
seeing anyone here. Oh, back there. Did you
want to speak regarding the QuikTrip dormant SSA?
UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE MEMBER: No.
MAYOR PURCELL: No. Then if you --
maybe you walked in late, ma'am. If you did not
hear, if you want to talk about the data centers,
that will be later on in the agenda. This is
just for the QuikTrip dormant SSA.
Okay. Hearing or seeing no
comments, I will close the QuikTrip dormant SSA.
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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Ready for the next one? Next I will
open the public hearing for the Costco dormant
SSA. We are now in the Costco dormant SSA public
hearing. If there is anyone who would like to
speak, please step forward.
(No response.)
MAYOR PURCELL: Is there anyone out in
Zoomland who would like to speak regarding the
Costco dormant SSA public hearing?
(No response.)
MAYOR PURCELL: Hearing none, seeing
none, I will now close the Costco dormant SSA.
And, finally, we have the public
hearing for the 2025 tax levy estimate, and this
will be taxes assessed in 2026, correct?
MR. OLSON: Correct.
MAYOR PURCELL: I will now open the 2025
tax levy estimate public hearing. We are now in
the public hearing for the 2025 tax levy
estimate.
Mr. Olson, did you have something?
MR. OLSON: I do, I have a very brief
presentation. Keep moving here in a second.
Okay. Thank you.
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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Again, this is a public hearing
required by law on our property tax levy. We
have to approve a property tax levy by the end of
calendar year 2025.
The levy ordinance and the public
notice that you saw in the newspaper does include
the City and the library, but functionally the
City Council controls the City property tax levy
and the library board controls their own library
levy.
So just so everybody is aware, we
are operating under the property tax extension
limitation law, which is the property tax cap, as
a non-home rule municipality, so, in general, the
City Council can only ask for in property taxes
exactly what it received last year plus an
inflationary factor, which this year is
2 .9 percent, plus new construction value, which
is about the same dollar amount effectively.
So, as an example, if we asked for
$10 last year, we would be able to get an
additional 2 .90 in inflationary factor, and then
any property taxes associated with new
construction.
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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Just pointing out before we get into
tax rates and everything else, the City Council
has a history, and there is a recommendation this
year to only take new construction; that is, we
would be foregoing the inflationary factor.
The result of that is that it tends
to moderate the City's property tax line item on
your tax bill over time, so what we have here is
the effect of that policy decision by previous
city councils, going all the way back to about
2013 is when we implemented that, s o effectively
the City Council has had a tax rate reduction of,
you know, a few cents per $100 EAV every year
since 2013, and for this sample homeowner who has
had some increases in their assessment over the
years, you know, they are paying similar,
two percent off what they were paying in 2011,
where they were paying $490 to the City and now
they are currently paying $497, and so that is
the policy implementation the City Council has
chosen.
So here is our property tax notice.
If you read the newspaper, you would have saw
this. These figures and this percentage here of
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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11 percent, again, are the City and library put
together.
The library has a different strategy
for what they want to do with property taxes, and
the effect of that is that this public notice
ends up showing a higher percentage than what we
actually think we are going to get, which I will
explain here in a second.
So, and additionally, the City
Council by policy has chosen to inflate the tax
levy estimate when they approved it last month so
that they can have a conversation up to and
including those estimated numbers.
So if we were to hold a public
hearing with a lower tax levy number, we would
not be able to increase it at a later date, so we
do that for policy reasons.
Also, a few years ago we had
estimated new construction value at whatever
dollar amount it was; the actual value ended up
coming in much higher, which means we left new
construction value on the table, which was good
because it ended up reducing property taxes by
more than we had communicated, but it left money
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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on the table that the City could have used for
different projects going forward.
So here is the summary of what the
City Council is proposing. We are proposing the
same property taxes as last year, plus the new
construction value, which is about $30 million of
new construction, mostly residential at this
point, but we are giving up inflation, so they
are not going to be collecting that additional
2 .8 or 2 .9 percent, so last year we collected
just over $4 ,000,000 and this year we are
proposing to collect 4 .16, which effectively is a
$113,000 increase and represents a 2 .8 percent
increase, so that should reduce the property
taxes, depending on everybody's assessment
obviously, and should have the result in, you
know, keeping your property taxes for the City's
line item relatively similar to what it was last
year.
The library has a different
strategy, as I mentioned. They have a maximum
tax rate of 15 cents per $100 EAV under law, and
they ask for that every year.
So the City comes in after the
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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library passes their levy and says we want 15
cents per $100 EAV and they apply the tax cap to
the library.
So last year they collected
1 .06 million, which represented about 11.6 cents
per $100 EAV. This year they just said we want
15 cents per $100 EAV, which the result is 1 .5
million dollars, and the City intends to apply
the property tax cap to them as well, and so they
are asking for inflation plus new construction,
which results in a 5 .7 percent increase from one
year to the next, and an 11 cent per $100 EAV tax
rate.
So that is what the public hearing
is for, and happy to take any questions after the
meeting if somebody has them; otherwise, this is
for citizen comments. Thank you.
MAYOR PURCELL: Bart, one question I 'll
ask.
MR. OLSON: Yes.
MAYOR PURCELL: The library levy did not
reflect the decrease they had the prior year.
MR. OLSON: Did not. Yes. Last year
was the first year that the referendum approved
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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new construction bonds for the library that was
built in about 200 5 , 200 6 , fell off the taxes.
That ended up saving everybody I think it was
$100 or something, you know, per home on average,
so --
MAYOR PURCELL: So the City library and
City regular combined, actually the City's
portion went down.
MR. OLSON: It did, yes.
MAYOR PURCELL: Thank you. Okay. Is
there anyone who would like to speak regarding
the 2025 tax levy estimate? If so, step to the
microphone.
(No response.)
MAYOR PURCELL: Is there anyone in
Zoomland who would like to speak to the 2025 tax
levy estimate at this public hearing?
(No response.)
MAYOR PURCELL: Hearing or seeing none,
we have now closed the 2025 tax levy estimate
public hearing. Thank you.
(Which were all the proceedings had
in the public hearings, concluding
at 7 :12 p .m .)
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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STATE OF ILLINOIS )
) SS:
COUNTY OF LASALLE )
I , CHRISTINE M . VITOSH, a Certified
Shorthand Reporter of the State of Illinois, do
hereby certify:
That the foregoing public hearing
transcript, Pages 1 through 13, was reported
stenographically by me by means of machine
shorthand, was simultaneously reduced to
typewriting via computer-aided transcription
under my personal direction, and constitutes a
true record of the testimony given and the
proceedings had;
That the said public hearing was taken
before me at the time and place specified;
That I am not a relative or employee or
attorney or counsel, nor a relative or employee
of such attorney or counsel for any of the
parties hereto, nor interested directly or
indirectly in the outcome of this action.
I further certify that my certificate
attached hereto applies to the original
transcript and copies thereof signed and
certified under my hand only. I assume no
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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responsibility for the accuracy of any reproduced
copies not made under my control or direction.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I do hereunto set my
hand at Leland, Illinois, this 25th day of
November, 2025.
/s / Christine M . Vitosh
CHRISTINE M . VITOSH,
Illinois C .S .R . Certificate
No. 084-02883
$
$10 [1] - 6:21
$100 [7] - 7:13, 9:22,
10:2, 10:6, 10:7,
10:12, 11:4
$113,000 [1] - 9:13
$30 [1] - 9:6
$4,000,000 [1] - 9:11
$490 [1] - 7:18
$497 [1] - 7:19
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10:7
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2.90 [1] - 6:22
2005 [1] - 11:2
2006 [1] - 11:2
2011 [1] - 7:17
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5:17, 5:19, 6:4,
11:12, 11:16, 11:20,
13:5
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2441 [1] - 3:12
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651 [1] - 1:16
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counsel [2] - 12:17,
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D
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Deputy [2] - 2:12, 3:5
Development [3] -
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City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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2:21, 2:23, 3:1
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Eric [1] - 2:16
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Garrett [1] - 3:5
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Gregory [1] - 2:24
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hand [3] - 4:14, 12:24,
13:4
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3:10
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Hyett [1] - 2:8
I
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Illinois [6] - 1:17, 3:13,
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7:20
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James [1] - 2:17
Jensen [1] - 2:17
Joe [1] - 2:4
John [1] - 2:1
Jori [1] - 2:11
JR [1] - 3:11
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late [1] - 4:19
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Vitosh Reporting Service
815.993.2832 cms.vitosh@gmail.com
City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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Vitosh Reporting Service
815.993.2832 cms.vitosh@gmail.com
City Council - Public Hearings - November 10, 2025
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United City of YorkvilleTAX LEVY PUBLIC HEARINGCITY COUNCIL11-10-25
Tax Levy Public Hearing•Public hearing is required by law•City Council must approve a tax levy by the end of 2025•Levy ordinance includes City and Library, but City Council controls City levy, Library Board controls Library levy
Tax Levy Public Hearing•Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL)•City Council can only ask for:•the property taxes it received last year PLUS•an inflationary factor PLUS•new construction value•If we asked for $10 last year, we can only ask for •$10 from last year PLUS•$2.90 (2.9% inflationary factor) PLUS•any property taxes associated with new construction
Tax Levy Public Hearing•For the public hearing, the City and Library always ask for more than they think they can receive•Gives elected officials flexibility to make policy decisions•Hedges against errors in new construction value estimates
Tax Levy Public Hearing•2025 Levy, paid for by taxpayers in Summer 2026•City expects to receive:•same property taxes as last year PLUS •new construction value •BUT FOREGOING inflation•$4,051,430 collected last year•$4,165,180 expected to be levied this year•Represents last year’s levy total plus ~$113,000 worth of new construction value, for a total increase of 2.8%•Should result in a decrease of the property tax rate from $0.44096 per $100 EAV to $0.40620 per $100 EAV
Tax Levy Public Hearing•2025 Levy, paid for by taxpayers in Summer 2026•Library is asking for a maximum property tax levy of $0.15 per $100 EAV•$1,067,182 collected last year•$0.11642 tax rate after City applied a tax cap•$1,538,123 requested this year•$0.15 tax rate equivalent•$1,127,974 expected to be received after City applies a tax cap•5.7% increase, reflecting ~2.9% in inflation and ~2.8% in new construction value•$0.11 tax rate estimate
Questions?Bart OlsonCity Administrator630-553-8537bolson@yorkville.il.usRob FredricksonFinance Director630-553-8534rfredrickson@yorkville.il.us
United City of YorkvilleProject CardinalInformational Presentation and Status UpdateNovember 10, 2025
My Background•Bart Olson•City Administrator for Yorkville since 2009•Top appointed official•Manages the day-to-day operations of all departments except Police•Yorkville High School Graduate•Northern Illinois University, Master of Public Administration Graduate•Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce Board member since 2009
How can you participate?•Project Cardinal –https://www.yorkville.il.us/906/Project-Cardinal-Data-Center-Campus-Anne
How can you participate?•Contact staff with any questions •Bart Olson, City Administrator – bolson@yorkville.il.us•Krysti Barksdale-Noble, Community Development Director – knoble@yorkville.il.us•Elected officials contact information -https://www.yorkville.il.us/320/City-Council •Come to a meeting in person or remotely and speak under Citizen Comments•Citizen comments are not intended to be a question and answer session – it is for the residents to speak to the City Council, and for the City Council to listen•Don’t want to come to a meeting? You can provide written comment that the City Clerk will enter into the public record for each meeting by emailing Jori Contrino at jcontrino@yorkville.il.us
Overview•Why are we having this meeting?•Why are data centers needed?•Why are data centers choosing to land in Yorkville?•Potential benefits of data centers•Project Cardinal Proposal Details•How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?
Why are we having this meeting?•The current landowners and a prospective data center developer have asked the City to annex property, to rezone property, and permit a data center campus to be constructed.•The City must review the petition and approve/deny the petition according to various City Code requirements, state laws, and case law precedence •Any property owner in the City can petition the City Council for a change in land use•Examples•Fence variance•Rezoning for a new subdivision•Special use for a drive-through window at a restaurant•Sign variance to construct a tall sign
Why are data centers needed?•Major worldwide investment in artificial intelligence (AI) with the hopes of eventually creating artificial general intelligence (AGI)•Everything is a computer, creating data which needs to be stored
Why Yorkville?•Data centers are running into power supply limitations in other states and Illinois is well positioned for future energy supply growth•Yorkville has thousands of acres of undeveloped land around one of the larger ComEd substations in the region•Open land in and around the substation allows easy expansion•Yorkville has a proposed HVDC converter facility called SooGreen, adjacent to the ComEd substation•SooGreen will provide more than 2 gigawatts of power, roughly the capacity of a nuclear power plant in the size of a modest utility building•Illinois has a Data Center Investment Program, providing state level incentives that are competitive throughout the Country
Potential Benefits of Data Centers•They are high tax revenue generating developments that have minimal impact on municipal and school district services•No school kids generated from the development. All property taxes paid to the school district help reduce the burden for other property taxpayers.•Site requires 24/7/365 on-site security with restricted access to the public. Any police responses would be limited to intruders or events between employees.•Because site access is heavily restricted, Bristol Kendall Fire Protection District is requiring the developer to file emergency operations planning. The buildings will all be heavily fire-protected, in order to safeguard the assets within.•No new public roadways are added to the City’s inventory. All roadways are privately owned and maintained.
Potential Benefits of Data Centers•Property Taxes•Data Centers pay normal property taxes, despite generating no school students•META Data Centers in DeKalb with 3 buildings of around 1m square feet per building and 3m square feet total is currently faced with a post-local-incentive tax bill of ~$31,000,000•Pre-incentive•The META property tax bill would be ~$68,000,000•As an illustration, the Yorkville School District is 71% of the property tax bill and would receive ~$48,000,000 if the META project was in Yorkville•As a comparison, all Yorkville School District taxpayers pay $80,000,000 in property taxes annually•META in DeKalb = 227 acres of data centers housing ~3,000,000 square feet
Potential Benefits of Data Centers•Property TaxesProject NameCountyGeneral LocationAcreageBuildingsTotal Building Square FeetEAVAnnual Tax BillProperty Taxes Per Sq. FtEAV Per Sq FtProject Cardinal Yorkville Kendall 47 and Galena, Yorkville IL 1048 14 buildings @ 1.2m sf each 17,000,000 $500m to $3B $50m to $100m $2.94 to $5.88 $30 to $177Project Steel Yorkville Kendall Eldamain and Galena, Yorkville IL 557 18 buildings @ 379,000 sf each 6,822,000 TBD TBD TBD TBDCyrus One Yorkville Kendall Eldamain and Corneils, Yorkville IL 230 9 buildings @ 333,000 sf each 3,000,000 TBD TBD TBD TBDMETA DeKalb* DeKalb Gurler Rd and Peace Rd, DeKalb, IL 227 3 Buildings @ 1m sf each 3,000,000 531,000,000$ 68,000,000$ $10 to $22.67 $177Equinix Elk Grove Village Cook Lund and Busse, Elk Grove Village IL 8 150,000 sf150,000 37,000,000$ 8,000,000$ $53.33 $247Cyrus One Aurora DuPage Eola and Diehl, Aurora IL 41 1 bldg @ 466k sf, 1 bldg @ 170k sf 636,000 19,000,000$ 1,400,000$ $2.20 $30CenterSquare Lisle DuPage Yeader and Western, Lisle IL 15 363,000 sf 363,000 10,100,000$ 734,000$ $2.02 $28Element Wood Dale DuPage Edgewood and Balm, Wood Dale IL 5 100,000 sf 100,000 3,000,000$ 216,000$ $2.16 $30Databridge Aurora DuPage Meridien Parkway, Aurora IL 5 80,000 sf 80,000 1,800,000$ 140,000$ $1.75 $23Project NameAcreageTotal Building Square FeetEAVAnnual Tax BillProperty Taxes Per Sq. FtEAV Per Sq FtProject Cardinal Yorkville 1048 17,000,000 $500m to $3B $50m to $100m $2.94 to $5.88 $30 to $177META DeKalb* 227 3,000,000 531,000,000$ $31m / $68m $10 to $22.67 $177Cyrus One Aurora 41 636,000 19,000,000$ $1,400,000 $2.20 $30
Project NameAcreageTotal Building Square FeetEAVAnnual Tax BillProperty Taxes Per Sq. FtEAV Per Sq FtProject Cardinal Yorkville 1048 17,000,000 $500m to $3B $50m to $100m $2.94 to $5.88 $30 to $177META DeKalb* 227 3,000,000 531,000,000$ $31m / $68m $10 to $22.67 $177Cyrus One Aurora 41 636,000 19,000,000$ $1,400,000 $2.20 $30
•Possible New Construction Value, One Project Cardinal Building•$29,000,000 to $176,000,000 EAV•$118,000 to $718,000 in new property tax revenue for the City, based on expected 2025 limiting rate•$1,600,000 to $10,000,000 in new property tax revenue for the School District, based on 2024 tax rate•Any new construction value not levied ends up reducing the tax rate and possibly the property tax bill for taxpayersProject NameAcreageTotal Building Square FeetEAVAnnual Tax BillProperty Taxes Per Sq. FtEAV Per Sq FtProject Cardinal Yorkville 1048 17,000,000 $500m to $3B $50m to $100m $2.94 to $5.88 $30 to $177META DeKalb* 227 3,000,000 531,000,000$ $31m / $68m $10 to $22.67 $177Cyrus One Aurora 41 636,000 19,000,000$ $1,400,000 $2.20 $30
Potential Benefits of Data Centers•Property Taxes and Cost of Services•Bristol Bay example, Y115 School DistrictSchool District cost to educate each pupil, annual $13,706Bristol Bay pupil count, actual x 352Annual Cost to educate Bristol Bay pupils $4,824,512Estimate of property taxes received by Y115 for all of Bristol Bay $3,321,908Estimated annual property tax to Y115 of Project Cardinal at full build out$35,000,000 to $70,000,000
Potential Benefits of Data Centers•Electrical Utility Taxes•Data centers use power, which is taxed by the community on a per kilowatt hour basis and the tax revenue benefits Yorkville property owners•City Code Section 3-2-4-B.c.•Each Project Cardinal building is expected to generate between $1,400,000 and $2,800,000 annually in utility taxes•$20m to $40m annually at full build out•The entire City currently generates $750,000 annually in utility taxes•The City’s general fund budget (core operations) is ~$26,000,000 in FY 26
Potential Benefits of Data Centers•How would the revenue impact residents?•DeKalb has shown property tax reductions – in 2-3 years, ~3% to 18% of the entire property tax bill has been reduced•Reduce non-home rule sales taxes? Total annual revenue is $4.3m•Free garbage service? Total annual cost is $2m•Eliminate Road Infrastructure Fee? Total annual revenue is $1m•Reduce water rates? Total annual water sales is currently $8m, but will increase to $16m annually in 2030 due to Lake Michigan water source project•Eliminate City sewer maintenance fees? Total annual revenue is $2m•Downtown Riverwalk? ~$10m one time cost•Bike paths to and from every subdivision in town? No cost estimate•New regional and neighborhood parks? No cost estimate
Potential Benefits of Data Centers•While job creation is often less in quantity than similar sized manufacturing developments, the jobs created are often higher paying than the median wage for full time employees in the same countyWrigley 516 employees on ~45 acres or 11.5 employees per acreAurora Specialty Textiles 62 employees on ~15 acres or 4 employees per acreProject Cardinal 750 employees on ~1000 acres or 0.75 employees per acre•Median Household Income in Kendall County ~$110,000•Average Job Salary, Data Centers ~$120,000
Potential Benefits of Data Centers•List of largest employers in Yorkville•Yorkville School District ~1,200 employees•Project Cardinal (proposed) ~750 to 1000 employees•Wrigley 516•Project Steel (proposed) ~500•Raging Waves (seasonal) 490•Super Target 273•Jewel / Osco 185•Home Depot 140•Menards 136•Newlywed Foods 125•Bright Farms 105•Wheatland Title 87
Project Cardinal Site Illustration•CARDINAL MAPS AND PICTURES
•CARDINAL ELEVATION
The Specifics•CARDINAL ELEVATION
Project Cardinal Proposal•~1000 acres•14 buildings of more than 1,000,000 square feet each (~17,000,000 total square feet)•Power supply capacity will be dictated by ComEd •City review status•Has been reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and recommended for approval unanimously•City Council has reviewed sound study•City Council has reviewed revised site plan •Traffic Study (and presentation on) required as part of future Utility and Infrastructure Agreement
Project Cardinal Proposal•Tonight’s agenda•Annexation Agreement – up for a vote•Planned Unit Development (PUD) Agreement – up for a vote•Annexing Ordinance – discussion only, will be considered at a later date•Rezoning Ordinance – discussion only, will be considered at a later date•Future City Council agendas•Annexing and Rezoning ordinances as mentioned above•Utility and Infrastructure Agreement•Water, sewer, road infrastructure commitments•Development Offsets Agreement•Impact fees / community donations
Project Cardinal Proposal•The annexation agreement and PUD agreement, as drafted•Allow the developer to build data centers, as proposed in the land-use plan/exhibit, and nothing else without City Council approval•Dictate that the rights to build the development as proposed are not effective until the City Council and the developer have agreed to terms on the Utility and Infrastructure Agreement and the Development Offsets agreement, and until the developer has actually closed on the land with the current landowner. All must occur by July 1, 2026.•Tonight’s vote, if approved, does not allow the development to move forward on its own (future City Council votes needed, as described above)
Project Cardinal Proposal•The annexation agreement and PUD agreement, as drafted:•Contemplates the annexation of 300 acres out of the 1000+ acres.•Gives the City some ability to rezone the property in year 19 of the development if no development occurs•Estimates construction of all 14 buildings within 10 years. Not mandated.•Prohibits nuclear energy generation on site. Concern about small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).•Dictates construction phasing•City Council makes the final decision•Developer has deferred to the City•ComEd has given some guidance but can be flexible•Residents on all sides of the development have given feedback•(continued on next slide)
Proposed Phasing PlanOriginal Phasing PlanPhase 1Phase 2123567
Project Cardinal Proposal•The annexation agreement and PUD agreement, as drafted:•Shows main and secondary vehicular access points on Baseline Rd and Galena Road only (no access from Route 47 nor Ashe Road)•Requires the developer to submit a sound study to the City Council before a building permit is issued (with equipment specifics), continuously monitor sound during construction, and issue a sound report 3 years after each building is open.•Limits building height to 78’, inclusive of rooftop equipment. If rooftop equipment is not used, the maximum height of the building is limited to 56.5’•Nearby high-power electrical lines are between 130’ and 170’ tall•Bristol Bay water tower is 160’ tall•Limits generator testing to 11am to 5pm on non-holiday weekdays only•Requires each building to be connected to the electrical grid prior to a certificate of occupancy being issued•Includes the construction of more than 5 miles of new publicly accessible trail around the perimeter of the site
Project Cardinal Project•The annexation agreement and PUD agreement, as drafted:•Does not provide any local tax incentives or rebates to the developer•Does not exempt the developer from paying any taxes to the City•Does not provide any discount on a City water bill•Does not give the developer any priority water use•Is not covered by any non-disclosure agreement (NDA)•No City staff have signed NDAs for this project
How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•Resident concerns, according to Loudoun County, Virginia staff•Lack of power supply for new development (ComEd issue in Illinois)•Noise of data centers•Multiple generators per building, used when power goes out in the area and semi-regular testing•Chillers and other mechanical equipment outside of the building has tonal noise during normal operations, and can have non-tonal noise when a chiller or other piece of rooftop equipment goes bad•Aesthetic complaints of new power lines•Loudoun County is heavily developed, and has data center buildings squeezing into vacant land next to residential homes
How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•Power supply issues are entirely handled by ComEd – City has no say or oversight•Aesthetic/power line issues are likely to be a non-factor – the City already has high tension and high-capacity power lines near Baseline and Route 47 heading west through the Project Cardinal site, and then south to the ComEd substation near Bright Farms and Cyrus One•ComEd staff have opined that any future power lines in the region would be in the existing ComEd easement footprint, or if not in the existing easements, would be a lower intensity / lower capacity line than what we currently see
How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•Noise•The City has a comprehensive noise ordinance that protects public health•Daytime noise must be kept under 60 dbA(normal conversational voice) and nighttime noise must be kept under 50 dbA(home refrigerator noise)•There are 10 dbApenalties to those limits for tonal noise (i.e. limit of 50 dbAdaytime / 40 dbAnighttime)•City is requiring each data center development to adhere to those standards, and model it prior to a City Council final vote•Route 47 noise•IDOT conducted a noise study between 2011 and 2019 that studied impact of expanding Route 47 to four lanes•Study showed then-current sound levels were between 56 and 68 dbAfor noise receptors stationed between 82 feet and 509 feet away from Route 47•Study projected that sound levels in 2040, post roadway expansion, would be between 50 dbAand 70 dbA
How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•Noise•The City has engaged a national engineering firm (Soundscape Engineering) that specializes in acoustics, noise, and vibration control, and has worked on data center projects•Soundscape Engineering has provided guidance on the project •Spacing between nearest data center building to houses:•East to Bristol Bay – 1400 feet of separation•West to Equestrian Estates – 1,200 feet of separation•South to farm houses – 925 feet of separation•North to farm house – 1,800 feet of separation•Site specific recommendations on how the project is oriented to minimize noise•Assistance with ongoing monitoring of a project during development•Post-development sound reports
The Specifics•How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•Noise
How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•Water use•No evaporative cooling data centers•National stories on single data center buildings using millions of gallons of water per day involve “evaporative cooling” systems •Yorkville’s entire daily water usage is currently between 2 – 2.5 million gallons per day (MGD)•Total current supply capacity is around 6.66 MGD, expected to get to 7.67 MGD before 2028 •Total current storage capacity is around 4.55 MGD, expected to get to 7.55 MGD before 2028•IDNR Water Allocation is around 6.10 MGD•Yorkville is strictly limiting water allocation to Project Cardinal, resulting in daily water use that will be LESS THAN a normal subdivision on the same acreage•Project Cardinal is currently planning to use closed loop air chillers, which have a much lower sound profile than other chillers and can be installed fully indoors
How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•Water use, maximum daily estimates•Project Cardinal, expected around 350,000 gallons per day (333 gallons per acre)•Change.org site from residents incorrectly estimated the water use at 28 million gallons per day •Average day estimate is around ~100,000 to ~250,000 gallons per day (depends on employee count)•Developer has confirmed that all City water use will be limited to domestic only (sinks, toilets, etc.). All cooling systems / chillers will be run on distilled water that will be trucked in from off-site.•Typical Residential Subdivision•Houses per acre – 2.8•People per household - 2.9•Gallons per person per day - 75Gallons Per Acre Per Day - 609
How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•Cost of infrastructure improvements•Water and sewer•Yorkville mandated the Cyrus One development to pay for all costs of water and sewer infrastructure extensions before the infrastructure projects were started•Estimated cost at the time of development approval was $11m, exact costs came in around $8m•Yorkville is requiring all other data centers to pay for the cost of water and sewer infrastructure extensions up front•Cost estimates TBD•Roadways•Yorkville is requiring a traffic study complete with construction traffic plan and permanent access plan•Plans will be reviewed by the City, Kendall County and the State (IDOT), as needed•Yorkville has development rules that require developments to improve all roadways adjacent to the development, according to the traffic generated from the development•Roadway work likely to be mandated before issuance of a building permit, or may be phased
How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•Cost of infrastructure improvements•Electrical system upgrades•ComEd segregates commercial/industrial rate payers from residential, so all system improvements should be borne by the developers themselves, or built into a commercial/industrial rate •Power generation concerns (not ComEd) are spread out among 13 states in the PJM Interconnection organization, so the Yorkville area power generation costs may be spread out among the country•Tax revenues will still be locally captured•ComEd summer energy supply rate increases were expected to hit residential bills by an average of a 10% increase, representing an additional ~$10 per month per household•Onestated reason for the price increase is increased forecasted demand, from data center users among other users•Tax revenues will still be locally captured and expected to exceed any electrical bill increase
How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=DGjj7wDYaiI •Concern in video – data centers will harm private water wells•Yorkville is in the process of moving to a Lake Michigan water source in 2028 (away from current deep aquifer wells), so it is unlikely any data centers will be operational in Yorkville while we’re still using our current deep aquifer sources.•Concern in video – data center developer utilized blasting on site•Not allowed in Yorkville, and likely not needed due to soil conditions•Concern in video – decimation of existing trees and tree cover•Site is currently farmland with almost no trees. Yorkville is requiring a 100’ wide fully landscaped perimeter with an 8’ to 12’ tall berm. City’s landscape code requires the developer to plant around 4,900 new trees on site.
How will Yorkville address expected resident concerns?•https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=DGjj7wDYaiI •Concern in video – light pollution at night•City has a comprehensive ordinance restricting light spillover from developments. City will review a photometric (light) plan prior to construction. •Concern in video – Georgia power bills are increasing due to data centers•Illinois and ComEd are requiring upfront studies to determine needed power infrastructure. Data centers will be expected to pay for the electrical system improvements upfront and most will have a 10-year transmission revenue guarantee that they’ll offset the costs of the improvements through rate increases. •Concern in video – nighttime construction•City prohibits construction between 7pm and 7am and all day on Sunday. We have not had any complaints from neighbors to our current residential and commercial (Costco) development projects in town. •Concern in video – Fayetteville City Council’s approval process•Yorkville City Council has asked the staff to address resident concerns and questions as they come up. We have a project page for each development on our website.
Contact infoBart Olson, City Administrator630-553-8537 directbolson@yorkville.il.usKrysti Barksdale-Noble, Community Development Director630-553-8573 directknoble@yorkville.il.us
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Debra Baumgartner
JM Farm, LLC
Baseline Road Farm Owner
November 10, 2025
Re: Project Cardinal /Pioneer Development Data Center
Dear Mayor Purcell and Yorkville City Council Members:
At the upcoming November 10, 2025 City Council meeting, The City reports that you are expected to
vote on:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE, KENDALL COUNTY, ILLINOIS
APPROVING A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE AND PIONEER DEVELOPMENT, LLC.
Please give careful consideration whether you can, in good conscience, agree to the veracity of all of the
following statements contained within the ordinance:
Section 3. The Mayor and City Council find that the Planned Unit Development meets ALL
standards required by Section 10-8-8 of the City Unified Development Ordinance.
1. Plan and Policy Alignment.
The Planned Unit Development is consistent with the goals, objectives, and policies set
forth in the Comprehensive Plan and other adopted plans and policy documents of the
City.
4. Compatibility with Adjacent Land Uses.
The Planned Unit Development includes uses which are generally compatible and
consistent with the uses of adjacent parcels. If the uses are not generally compatible, all
adverse impacts have been mitigated through screening, landscaping, public open space,
and other buffering features that protect uses within the development and surrounding
properties.
Section 4. The Mayor and City Council find that the Planned Unit Development meets ALL
standards required by Section 10-8-5 (of) the City Unified Development Ordinance, including
Section 10-8-8. More specifically, the Mayor and City Council have determined that Planned
Unit Development meets ALL standards in the categories to be considered based upon the
Unified Development Ordinance:
2. The Special Use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the
immediate vicinity for the purpose already permitted, nor substantially diminish and
impair property values within or near the neighborhood in which it is to be located.
3. The establishment of the Special Use will not impede the normal and orderly
development and improvement of surrounding property for uses permitted in
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the district.
6. The proposed Special Use is not contrary to the objectives of the City’s adopted
Comprehensive Plan.
(The maps of the Future Land Uses North of the Fox River and the Residential Typography found in the
2016 Yorkville Comprehensive Plan are included with this letter for your review. All 1037 acres were
designated for estate/conservation residential development (low density) which would not use anywhere
close to the amount of water and electricity that the proposed hyperscale data center will require. The
“infrastructure improvements” to roads and the supersizing of the ComEd and water capacities are
necessary to power Project Cardinal and will not provide significant benefit to the local residents who will
subsidize those improvements through increased utility rates.)
Section 5. In approving this Ordinance, the Mayor and City Council have also considered
the following factors regarding Project Cardinal and the association Planned Unit Development
and Special Uses:
4. The proposed land use does not significantly diminish the property values of
the subject property or nearby properties, and to the extent the property values of any
nearby properties are diminished, such diminishment would be offset or outweighed by
an expected decrease in property taxes for nearby properties based on the increase in
property taxes received by the City from the new development on the subject property.
6. The relative gain to the public from this proposed land use outweighs any hardship
imposed upon any individual property owners.
Question: If this project was proposed adjacent to the mayor’s or a councilman’s home, would you
impose this hardship upon yourselves and your families and vote to approve it?
Section 8. The Mayor and City Council find that the City’s project page has informed citizens
regarding how the certain areas are adequately addressed by the plan, including capacity of
water and sewer system, sound concerns, the phasing plan, and traffic study.
Certain areas are conspicuously absent from the City’s project page, specifically:
Section 9.(c) “Approval by the Corporate Authorities of a certain Development Agreement
covering the Development Site and execution thereof by Pioneer Development and the City;” and
Section 9.(d) “Approval by the Corporate Authorities of a certain Utility and Infrastructure
Agreement covering the Development Site and execution thereof by Pioneer and the City.”
Earlier versions of the PUD Agreement included language and exhibits pertaining to roadway
reconstruction, ROW easement designations, and water usage. In the most recent iteration of the PUD
Agreement, those sections have been modified to state that the issues will be addressed and governed
exclusively by a separate Utility and Infrastructure Agreement.
Since execution of the PUD is contingent upon the approval of both the Development Agreement and the
Utility and Infastructure Agreement, what is the justification for approving the PUD Agreement BEFORE
informing the public of the terms/language of those subsequent, substantive agreements? Are the mayor
and City Council even informed about proposed contents of these forthcoming agreements before they
vote to approve the PUD Agreement?
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Please post all proposed consequential agreements on the City’s project page for full disclosure and
transparency prior to approving any agreements related to the Project Cardinal/Pioneer Development.
Your consideration of these concerns is appreciated.
Sincerely,
Debra Baumgartner
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Monica Cisija
Subject:FW: Written Comments; Re: Mayor’s Report: 1. CC 2025-58 Ordinance Amending (Public
Camping Ordinance)
From: Anne Engelhardt
Sent: Friday, November 7, 2025 8:15:02 PM
To: Jori Contrino <jcontrino@yorkville.il.us>
Subject: Written Comments; Re: Mayor’s Report: 1. CC 2025-58 Ordinance Amending (Public Camping Ordinance)
Written Comments for Mayor and Yorkville City Council Meeting October 14, 2025
Re: Mayor’s Report: 1. CC 2025-58 Ordinance Amending (Public Camping Ordinance)
Submitted by Anne Engelhardt,
Resident of Yorkville since 1978
Retired teacher (English/ Language Arts)
Former member of Yorkville District 115 Board of Education
Served as Executive Director of Kendall County PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) which provided
overnight shelter, food and other services to more than 750 unhoused people from October 2010- March
2020
(Note: My Written Comments are different from, but related to, my public comments at meeting on October 14,
2025)
QUESTIONS FOR YOU:
1. What is the underling purpose of Ordinance 2025-57? (What is the overall goal?)
2. What is the percentage of increase of homelessness in the US in the past 10 years? What does that trend
foretell?
3. Do you have an understanding of the mental, social, and physical conditions of the homeless person?
4. How much money does a homeless person have available at any time they are unhoused and living in
public spaces?
5. What amounts are the fines as listed in the ordinance 2025-57? What is the total of the six potential fines?
6. What is the financial cost for one person incarcerated (jailed) for one day? a week? six months?
7. What kinds of services are available to homeless people while they are in Kendall County jail?
8. What is the dollar amount of minimum wage (before taxes and fees are taken out) in Illinois?
9. Working a 40-hour week for 52 weeks a year, how much money will a person earn?
10. What is the cost of rent of apartment in Yorkville? And how many units are available? How does this rent
cost compare with the income of a worker being paid minimum wage?
11. After a homeless person agrees to get into a shelter and be put on a wait list for housing assistance, there is
usually a gap of time before that can happen. What in Ordinance 2025-57 explains what happens to the
homeless person during this gap?
12. When a homeless person’s personal possessions are taken, will this confiscation include their cell phone?
medications? personal hygiene products? clothes? books, including any religious books? personal photos,
such as family? Why will these things be taken, and without a search warrant?
13. When a ticket is given to the homeless person, and if they do pay the fine,
A. Who collects the money?
B. Where does the money go?
C. Who oversees this fund or location?
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D. What is the money used for?
14. What is the actual source of the homelessness in our city, county, state, and US?
15. What are the resources and agencies who reach out to the homeless? And what do the do?
16. How can the program of assistance be improved for efficiency and effectiveness for getting an unhoused
person into shelter in a rapid response?
17. How can a street task force assist the agencies?
18. What City ordinances can address the related issues with a homeless person?
19. Would you say that the ordinance is a reaction to someone sleeping in public?
20. To what extent and in what ways does this ordinance address the underlying problems of homelessness in
general?
21. What can the city of Yorkville do to really understand the sources of homelessness and explore ways to
address these?
This ordinance clearly needs much research, thought, and discussion, before it gets a final vote!
INVITATION:
Mayor, City Councilmen, and City Administrator:
For your research to increase your understanding of homelessness and for the purpose of writing an effective
ordinance in regard to homelessness encampments, you are invited to attend a one-hour virtual presentation,
Thursday October 16, at 1:00 pm.
Encampments: Community-wide responses - RYAN with Iain De Jong
Date & Time: Oct 16, 2025 01:00 -2:00PM
Description
In this conversation, Ryan and Iain explore compassionate, housing-focused strategies for responding to
homelessness encampments.
To register: (No cost to attend)
Zoom%20Registration%20Link:%20https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/6116770284526/WN eqoYKnm9T8y
7166UlETvOA
Free online training: Encampments: Community-Wide Responses with Iain De Jong on Thursday October 16 at
11am PST
This 60 minute training is designed for organizations or communities looking for a comprehensive process for
reducing or ending encampments in their community and employees who do street outreach.
Learn
-How to build a community-wide strategy for addressing encampments
-Why direct engagement with people living in encampments leads to better solutions
-The most common mistakes communities make in encampment responses and practical steps to avoid them.
Zoom Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../611.../WN eqoYKnm9T8y7166UlETvOA
Recording: Available for 30 days following the live training (you must register using the link above before the training
to access the recording on Zoom)
About the Guest:
Iain De Jong is the President & CEO of OrgCode with over 20 years of experience in the housing and homelessness
industry having held positions in the public, non-profit, and private sectors. Iain is a renowned international expert in
ending homelessness as a consultant, author, researcher, and keynote speaker. Iain also spent 10 years teaching
Community Planning in the Graduate Planning Program at York University. When not traveling, Iain calls Oakville,
ON home