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Case File · Aurora, Kane County, Illinois
Aurora City Council paused new data-center and warehouse applications on September 25, 2025. On March 24, 2026, it adopted the framework NPR Illinois described as among the strongest in the state — mandatory acoustic and resource-consumption studies, formal data-center definition, and Council approval required for every project — then extended the moratorium another 30 days.
Cited post-ordinance regime read: 48/100 — open, but every application is bespoke.
180 days + 30
Moratorium
Mar 24, 2026
Regulations Vote
5
DCs Operational
5
DCs In Development
Council Vote
Approval Required
48/100
RealClear Score
Aurora, IL · 2024 — 2026
Six months of moratorium shaped what came after.
November 2024
T5 Chicago IV rezoning ordinance
A rezoning ordinance is issued for the T5 Chicago IV project in Aurora. Phase one is anticipated at approximately 480 MW with delivery targeted for 2027. At the time of the rezoning, Aurora has no data-center-specific regulatory framework; the approval follows standard industrial-zoning process.
September 25, 2025
Aurora City Council enacts 180-day moratorium
The Aurora City Council enacts a 180-day moratorium on new data-center and warehouse developments, pausing the review of new applications while staff drafts a regulatory framework. The moratorium covers both use categories, signaling concern about cumulative industrial impact, not just data centers specifically.
February 18, 2026
Planning & Zoning Commission continues hearing
The City of Aurora Planning and Zoning Commission continues a public hearing on the newly proposed data-center zoning ordinances rather than voting. The continuation reflects the level of technical detail required — noise studies, water draw, resource consumption — and the number of written comments received.
March 24, 2026
City Council adopts data-center regulations
The Aurora City Council adopts data-center regulations described by NPR Illinois as among the strongest in Illinois. Provisions include a formal definition of data centers, mandatory sound-level studies, required resource-consumption reports, lowered maximum sound levels, and updated zoning standards requiring Council approval for all new projects.
March 24, 2026
Moratorium extended 30 days
The moratorium is extended an additional 30 days beyond the ordinance vote to allow transition. The extension signals that the Council wants every pending application evaluated under the new framework rather than under the prior regime.
Q2 2026 — Ongoing
5 operational, 5 in development
With five data centers already operational in Aurora and five more in various stages of development per city staff, the regulatory framework now governs the back half of the pipeline. Sustainability director Alison Lindburg frames the goal publicly as making data centers “responsible neighbors.”
The People Who Shaped This Regime
Aurora did not ban data centers. It conditioned them.
Aurora City Council
City of Aurora
Documented Record
Enacted 180-day moratorium September 25, 2025. Adopted data-center regulations March 24, 2026 and extended moratorium by 30 days. Council approval is now required for all new data-center projects.
A mixed stance: the Council neither banned data centers outright nor left the regime permissive. The political signal is conditional welcome — supported if the applicant can absorb the cost of acoustic studies, resource-consumption reporting, and a Council hearing for every project.
Alison Lindburg
Sustainability Director, City of Aurora
Documented Record
Stated publicly: “We’re trying to put regulations in place to help data centers ... understand that we want them to be responsible neighbors.” (NPR Illinois coverage of the March 24, 2026 ordinance adoption.)
The ‘responsible neighbors’ framing positions the Council as pro-industry, pro-regulation, not anti-industry. That is a more durable political posture than either extreme and signals that the ordinance was designed to be defensible if litigated by an applicant.
Aurora Planning & Zoning Commission
City of Aurora
Documented Record
Continued the February 18, 2026 public hearing on the proposed data-center ordinances rather than voting, citing volume of comments and technical complexity of the sound-study and resource-consumption provisions.
A continuation rather than a vote is not weak evidence — it is a procedural acknowledgment that the staff-drafted ordinance required material refinement. Continuation hearings produce stronger final ordinances.
T5 Data Centers
Developer — T5 Chicago IV
Documented Record
Secured a November 2024 rezoning ordinance for the T5 Chicago IV campus, targeting approximately 480 MW phase-one delivery by 2027. The rezoning was completed before the moratorium.
T5’s rezoning is grandfathered relative to the post-March 2026 regime but subsequent phases and build-out will interact with the new framework. The T5 approval is the reference point Council members now contrast against ‘everything going forward.’
Aurora Community (via comment record)
Residents
Documented Record
Concerns cited in NPR Illinois coverage and city planning record include high electricity costs, air and water pollution, heavy water usage, and transparency around AI workloads.
Community concerns shaped ordinance content, not ordinance binary outcome. The Council responded with regulatory conditions, not prohibition — a middle path that forces every applicant to answer every concern on the record.
The Key Differentiator
Moratorium Is a Leading Indicator
A 180-day moratorium enacted on September 25, 2025 signaled in real time that every by-right data-center pathway in Aurora was being rewritten. Capital committed during the moratorium bore interest without entitlement progress.
Council Vote Required for Every Project
The March 2026 ordinance eliminates the administrative-approval pathway for data centers. Every new project is now a discretionary Council action — equivalent in risk profile to a rezoning, even in already-zoned industrial districts.
Resource-Consumption Reports Mandatory
Staff-reviewed resource-consumption reports are required for each application. This adds engineering cost, utility-coordination time, and creates a public record on which opposition can build.
Sound Study + Water Draw Disclosure
Mandatory sound-level studies and water-draw disclosure turn each hearing into a technical fact-finding exercise. Closed-loop cooling or aggressive noise attenuation design become cost-of-entry, not differentiators.
T5 Rezoning Is the Reference Point
T5 Chicago IV (approximately 480 MW phase one) was rezoned in November 2024, before the moratorium. It is now the comparable every applicant will be measured against — ‘T5 got in under the old regime.’
‘Responsible Neighbors’ Framing Is Durable
Sustainability Director Lindburg’s public framing of the ordinance as making data centers ‘responsible neighbors’ is deliberately pro-industry-conditional. That framing is defensible in litigation and insulates against preemption challenges.
The Pre-Filing Research
Before the moratorium. Before the ordinance. Before the Council vote.
Jurisdiction Analysis
City of Aurora — Data Center Regulatory Regime
Aurora, Kane County, IL — 5 data centers operational, 5 more in development
High-Friction Factors
Recommendation
PROCEED WITH CAUTION. Aurora is not closed to data centers — the T5 Chicago IV campus holds a November 2024 rezoning — but the post-moratorium regime converts every application into a bespoke Council vote. Pro-forma must assume 9-18 month entitlement, full acoustic and utility studies, and pre-hearing community engagement equivalent to a rezoning even when the underlying zoning permits.
This Is Entitlement Research
RealClear tracks moratorium status, required study packages, and mandatory hearing thresholds — before you commit capital.
Cited research summary · Not legal advice · Verify independently before making investment decisions
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