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Yorkville residents file lawsuit against the city to halt the 1,034 acre Project Cardinal data center · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Yorkville residents file lawsuit against the city to halt one
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  Speaker 1: thousand and thirty four acre Project Cardinal Data Center. Written
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  Speaker 1: by Joey Weslow, This article is being read by an
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  Speaker 1: automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Several Yorkville residents
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  Speaker 1: have united to form a community based organization, Preserve Our
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  Speaker 1: Yorkville and Community LLC, to file lawsuits against the city
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  Speaker 1: to halt data center construction. The lawsuit lists the City
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  Speaker 1: of Yorkville and Pioneer Development LLC, the developers behind the
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  Speaker 1: approval of one thousand, thirty four acre Project Cardinal Data
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  Speaker 1: Center with fourteen warehouses across seventeen million square feet. The
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  Speaker 1: plaintiffs argue the city failed to notify immediate area residents
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  Speaker 1: of the plans to annex the unincorporated Kendall County land
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  Speaker 1: and rezone the property to manufacturing for data center construction.
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  Speaker 1: Accompanying the group as plaintiffs is Skyfall Equestrian LLC, residents
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  Speaker 1: Dorothy and John Flisk, and residence Charles and Laura Casper.
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  Speaker 1: During the April fourteenth City Council meeting, the city announced
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  Speaker 1: the developers for the proposed eighty acre Meyer Data Center
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  Speaker 1: withdrew their proposal after losing city council support. Mayor John
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  Speaker 1: Purcell said there's no more appetite from the city council
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  Speaker 1: for data center proposals outside of what's already been approved.
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  Speaker 1: The city was at one point entertaining around a dozen
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  Speaker 1: different data center proposals stretched out across more than three
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  Speaker 1: thousand acres of the El Domain Corridor for Yorkville's own
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  Speaker 1: data center alley. The city has already approved the two
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  Speaker 1: hundred and twenty eight acre Cyrus one Data Center, the
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  Speaker 1: Project Cardinal Data Center, and the five hundred and forty
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  Speaker 1: acre Project Steel Data Center. The city has touted the
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  Speaker 1: five hundred thousand nine dollars to one million dollars in
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  Speaker 1: tax revenues each individual building could generate. The mayor also
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  Speaker 1: championed the ninety one million dollars in upfront from the
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  Speaker 1: developmental agreements to the city by Project Cardinal and Project Steel.
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  Speaker 1: City Administrator bart Olson said the money would be spent
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  Speaker 1: on the Yorkville School District one to fifteen expansion, the
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  Speaker 1: Fire District, city projects, and charitable community organizations. But residents
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  Speaker 1: who have regularly packed city council meetings have said no
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  Speaker 1: amount of money is worth the possible sound, light and
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  Speaker 1: environmental pollution, especially during the ten twenty years of expected construction.
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  Speaker 1: Preserve our Yorkville and Community also launched an injunction petition
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  Speaker 1: and a new website to gather community support. On the website,
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  Speaker 1: residents can donate to the legal fund and sign the
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  Speaker 1: petition on the group's website. They say the town is
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  Speaker 1: under siege. The community led coalition said they are dedicated
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  Speaker 1: to preserving the residential character of Yorkville and oppose the
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  Speaker 1: industrialization of our local landscapes. We are facing an unprecedented
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  Speaker 1: expansion of massive data center projects that threaten to consume
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  Speaker 1: our natural resources and irreversibly alter our quality of life.
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  Speaker 1: The organization posted. These industrial giants demand millions of gallons
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  Speaker 1: of water and generate continuous intrusive noise pollution that echoes
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  Speaker 1: across our quiet neighborhoods. We are organizing to protect our
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  Speaker 1: environment and ensure the future of Yorkville remains in the
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  Speaker 1: hands of its residents, not corporate industrialization. The group's website
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  Speaker 1: indicates they will pursue additional litigation using environmental law and
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  Speaker 1: zoning regulations, not the city's only lawsuit. Meanwhile, the lawsuit
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  Speaker 1: filed by resident John Bryan against the City of Yorkville
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  Speaker 1: and Pioneer Development LLC is likely heading toward a settlement.
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  Speaker 1: In his lawsuit, Brian argues that Project Cardinal will negatively
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  Speaker 1: impact his property values and quality of life. The last
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  Speaker 1: court hearing was April twenty fourth. Both legal teams asked
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  Speaker 1: for an extension to May eighth, while both parties work
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  Speaker 1: toward US settlement. Both legal teams have repeatedly asked for
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  Speaker 1: extensions since the lawsuit was filed in late twenty twenty five,
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  Speaker 1: while telling the court they are close on a settlement agreement.