City Council Hears First Reading Monday Evening, Moves to Committee of the Whole for Further Discussion
The Macomb City Council’s General Government Committee, chaired by Alderman John Vigezzi, met last month to discuss a hot topic facing communities throughout the U.S.: data centers.
And the verdict of the committee? Changing Macomb’s zoning code so data centers will not be allowed within Macomb’s city limits at this time. According to Vigezzi, the decision to vote “no” on data center development reflects concerns about protecting Macomb’s residents, natural resources and long-term economic interests.
“Before approving projects of this type, we must carefully consider their potential impact on electricity costs, water consumption, infrastructure, the environment and the quality of life of our community,” he added.
“Economic development should benefit Macomb residents today and for generations to come.”
At Monday’s Macomb City Council meeting, aldermen heard the first reading for an ordinance to change the zoning use matrix to remove the other uses not generally permitted in the use matrix, including data centers. The discussion will move forward to the Committee of the Whole next week and then go before the Macomb City Council once more, according to City Administrator Scott Coker.
Recently, the question of data centers within the community elicited concerns when a public hearing for a battery storage center was announced. This raised questions about a possible data center as the property owner has proposed another site in Macomb, coupled with the recent vote-down by a majority of the McDonough County Board for a moratorium on data centers.
The Macomb Planning Commission public hearing, which was originally set for Sept.
23, was canceled as the city had incorrectly published the notice.
That September hearing was for a special use permit to allow a battery energy storage system, which currently has solar panels in place, at 901 E. Street (off of East University Drive, just north of the Wheeler Street housing development) for IAG Investments LLC, owned and managed by Anthony Donato of Chicago. Donato is also the CEO of Donato Solar and GAIL Technology, which is a data-center company. There are currently three warehouse-style buildings on the property.
Donato Solar has another proposed project – the “Macomb Wear Solar Project” – which, according to the public notice paperwork filed in March, will power four buildings that will be built to house data centers within city limits. According to that notice, two service panels will be installed on each data center building and four padmounted Ameren transformers (points of interconnect). The new solar facility would impact 28.2 acres of land currently zoned for agricultural special use (the southwest intersection of South Johnson Street and Wear Avenue), across the street from the Macomb Senior High School and Macomb Middle School campuses.
Macomb Mayor Mike Inman stressed there are currently no proposed data centers under review by city staff. There are battery storage projects under consideration; however, they are subject to review by the planning commission, as well as the council, he added.
The land at both Wear Avenue and near University Drive is owned by IAG Investments, and leased for Donato Solar LLC.
Donato Solar submitted an application to the Rural Business-Cooperative Service’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for loan and grant funding for the Wear Street project. According to his LinkedIn profile, “Donato Solar is the investor and developer of solar fields throughout Illinois, with 40MW of developments planned for 2023-2024 with the goal of planning, developing, and owning 100MW of solar fields by 2025, while GAIL Technology “represents the future of solar farm development and datacenter operations.”
Late last year in Fulton County, Donato Solar requested the Fulton County Zoning Board of Appeals approve a change of property from Agriculture Conservation to Industrial zoning. The plans were to develop 32 acres within a much larger property parcel near Spoon River College and Lake Wee-Ma-Tuck in Canton. The company said they would have two pole buildings for the data center, which would be surrounded by ground-mount solar panels to provide all the energy needed and a closed-loop cooling system. During the hearing the company was asked repeatedly about water withdrawal and noise levels. Donato Solar did not have a lease or ownership of the property and replied to questions saying that negotiations for the land were moving forward. That resulted in the Zoning Board voting “no” on the request.
