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Amidst lawsuit, Yorkville’s updated Comprehensive Plan charts new industrial path for city · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Amidst lawsuit. Yorkville's Updated Comprehensive Plan charts new industrial path
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  Speaker 1: for city. Written by Joey Weslow, This article is being
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  Speaker 1: read by an automated voice brought to you by Everlett.
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  Speaker 1: The Yorkville City Council has unanimously approved another round of
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  Speaker 1: amendments to the Comprehensive Plan. The amendments included rezoning changes
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  Speaker 1: for seven projects that have already been approved by the city.
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  Speaker 1: Christy Barksdale, Noble Community Development Director, said it's the council's
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  Speaker 1: June twenty third meeting dot the alterations will ensure that
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  Speaker 1: the plan remains consistent with the built environment and the zoning.
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  Speaker 1: The Updated Comprehensive Plan reflects the city's approvals for the
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  Speaker 1: Project Cardinal Data Center, the Project Steel Data Center, a
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  Speaker 1: new school building north of River Road for Yorkville School
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  Speaker 1: District one point fifteen, and Restore Church. The amendments also
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  Speaker 1: include the DMFT LOFTUS industrial site that was originally rezoned
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  Speaker 1: for data centers, the USA Energy Independent Solar Farm north
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  Speaker 1: of Corneills Road, and the new South Receiving Station and
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  Speaker 1: water tower as part of the infrastructure needed for the
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and twenty four point four million dollars Lake
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  Speaker 1: Michigan water sourcing project. According to city documents, the changes
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  Speaker 1: will help prevent misinterpretation of land use expectations within the
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  Speaker 1: Comprehensive Plans planning horizon. The Comprehensive Plan land use map
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  Speaker 1: is a guide to future development and zoning decisions, but
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  Speaker 1: it is also meant to be adjusted when circumstances warrant
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  Speaker 1: a change in planning direction in a given area of
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  Speaker 1: the city. Staff said in city documents. The original plan
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  Speaker 1: was approved in twenty sixteen, undergoing alterations along the way,
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  Speaker 1: including last year, with some already approved projects ranging from
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  Speaker 1: data centers to solar farms to commercial like the new
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  Speaker 1: Costco wholesale warehouse and the new Fox Valley Family YMCA development.
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  Speaker 1: This has angered some residents, even inspiring part of a
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  Speaker 1: lawsuit by some who argue the city should wait to
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  Speaker 1: amend the Comprehensive Plan first before approving projects that are
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  Speaker 1: inconsistent with what residents and landowners are expecting. A group
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  Speaker 1: of residents forming Preserve Out Yorkville and Community LLC have
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  Speaker 1: sued the city and the developers of Project Cardinal and
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  Speaker 1: Project Steel in part arguing the city's approval of the
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  Speaker 1: project's deviates too far from the city's approved twenty sixteen
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  Speaker 1: Comprehensive Plan. A closer look at the changes. The approved
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  Speaker 1: changes to the Comprehensive Plan cover six projects that were
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  Speaker 1: approved in twenty twenty five and twenty twenty six. It
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  Speaker 1: also includes Restore Church, which was first approved by the
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  Speaker 1: city in twenty twenty two. The amendments for the Project Cardinal,
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  Speaker 1: Project Steel, and the DMFT Loftist Property designate those site
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  Speaker 1: for manufacturing and industrial use. The thirty seven acre Project
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  Speaker 1: Cardinal will feature fourteen data center warehouses totaling seventeen million
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  Speaker 1: square feet. The current agricultural site is located northwest of
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  Speaker 1: Illinois Rue forty seven and Glenna Roads, south of Baseline Road,
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  Speaker 1: and east of Ash Road. The property was rezoned from
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  Speaker 1: estate Conservation residential to general manufacturing for the use of
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  Speaker 1: data centers. Its original zoning called for single family housing
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  Speaker 1: while preserving sensitive environmentals and scenic features, while preserving recreational
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  Speaker 1: areas and open space for either public or private use.
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  Speaker 1: The five hundred forty acre Project Steel will feature sixteen
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  Speaker 1: data center warehouses totaling six point eight million square feet.
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  Speaker 1: The current agricultural site is located southeast of Ash and
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  Speaker 1: Galena Roads, east of Eldamain Road, north of Cornhills Road,
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  Speaker 1: and west of East Beacher Road. The property was originally
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  Speaker 1: zoned for single family residential before being rezoned for manufacturing
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  Speaker 1: data center use. The fifty four acre DMFT Loftas site
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  Speaker 1: was rezoned from agricultural and residential to general industrial. City
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  Speaker 1: documents said it is consistent with future industrial dot center
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  Speaker 1: land uses. The city has since said there is no
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  Speaker 1: more interest for data centers outside of the three already approved.
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  Speaker 1: This means the DMFT Loftis site will remain zoned for industrial,
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  Speaker 1: but a data center is unlikely. When reached for comment,
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  Speaker 1: city administrator bart Olsen said there is nothing new planned
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  Speaker 1: for the site since the city approved the rezoning last year.
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  Speaker 1: The site is located north of Faxon Road, east of
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  Speaker 1: Beecher Road, and south of the BNSF Railroad. City officials
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  Speaker 1: have said three thousand acres along the Eldamain Road corridor
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  Speaker 1: is planned for industrial. The city originally slated the entire
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  Speaker 1: corridor for data centers, but have since shrunk the footprint
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  Speaker 1: elsewhere in the city. The amended Comprehensive plan also includes
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  Speaker 1: the twenty nine acre Restore Church site that was rezoned
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  Speaker 1: from residential to destination commercial in twenty twenty two. The
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  Speaker 1: zoning enables religious purposes on the site as well as
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  Speaker 1: potential non religious affiliated land uses, which the city said
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  Speaker 1: is consistent with the church's future plans. The site is
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  Speaker 1: located east of Wing Road and south of Illinois Route
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  Speaker 1: seventy one in the farmland north of River Road, west
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  Speaker 1: of Game Farm Road, and east of Eldamain Road. The
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  Speaker 1: comprehensive plan now includes the one hundred and ten acre
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  Speaker 1: site slated for a new school for Yorkville School District
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  Speaker 1: one p. Fifteen. The site has been rezoned from residential
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  Speaker 1: to institutional. The property has also been considered for the
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  Speaker 1: site of a new Bristol Kendall Fire Protection District station.
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  Speaker 1: As part of the Lake Michigan water sourcing project, the
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  Speaker 1: city rezoned four acres for the South Receiving station and
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  Speaker 1: a new water tower. The site has been rezoned from
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  Speaker 1: residential to institutional. The site is located on former farmland
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  Speaker 1: north of Illinois Route one hundred and twenty six, east
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  Speaker 1: of Wing Road, and south of Illinois Route seventy one.
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  Speaker 1: Solar Power. The cities also included the USA Energy Independent
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  Speaker 1: Solar Farm, which is within the city's one point five
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  Speaker 1: mile planning boundary. Outside city limits, the thirty seven acre
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  Speaker 1: site is located north of Corneils Road and east of
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  Speaker 1: Illinois Route forty seven. The city approved changing the property's
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  Speaker 1: designation from residential to agricultural zone to enable the solar farm.
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  Speaker 1: The special use permit for the facility was approved by
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  Speaker 1: Kendall County in twenty twenty five.