To the Members of the Sangamon County Board and the Sangamon County Zoning Board of Appeals:

We, the undersigned residents, property owners, taxpayers, and stakeholders of Sangamon County, respectfully petition you to vote NO on the proposed CyrusOne data center build if it is brought from the table for consideration at the April 7 meeting.

We submit this petition because the proposed project, as presented, does not fit the agricultural zoning context under which it has been advanced and therefore should not be approved under the current classification.

The proposed CyrusOne development is an approximately 280 acre land acquisition to house the 4x 450,000 sq foot data center facility with infrastructure characteristic of intensive industrial operations, including continuous operation, significant electrical demand, and large-scale mechanical and cooling systems.

We believe approval should be denied for the following reasons:

1. The proposed use is not consistent with agricultural zoning.
A data center is industrial in character and function. Its scale, intensity, infrastructure needs, and operational impacts do not align with the ordinary purpose or intent of agricultural land use. Presenting this project in an agricultural zoning context creates a fundamental mismatch between the actual use and the zoning classification under which it is being considered.

2. Required findings for approval cannot be properly made under the current classification.
For a zoning approval to be lawfully and responsibly granted, the Board must be able to determine that the proposed use is compatible with the district, consistent with surrounding land uses, not harmful to neighboring property, and protective of public health, safety, and welfare. Because this project has been advanced under an improper classification, those findings cannot be made with confidence or supported by the proper record.

3. The project’s true impacts have not been evaluated under the correct standards.
Industrial-scale data infrastructure brings impacts that differ significantly from agricultural uses, including high energy demand, infrastructure strain, mechanical noise, cooling systems, and long-term land-use consequences. Those impacts should be reviewed under the standards applicable to industrial or commercial development, not under standards intended for agricultural uses.

4. Approval under the wrong zoning framework undermines procedural integrity.
If the project is approved despite being improperly classified, the decision risks being inconsistent with county zoning requirements and unsupported by the findings the Board is required to make. This raises serious concerns about fairness, due process, and the legal sufficiency of any approval.

For these reasons, we respectfully request that the Sangamon County Board and the Sangamon County Zoning Board of Appeals:
 1. DENY the proposed CyrusOne data center application under its current zoning classification;
 2. Require that any future application for this project be submitted under the appropriate industrial or commercial zoning classification; and
 3. Ensure that any future review includes a full and accurate assessment of the project’s impacts under the standards applicable to its actual use and intensity.

We submit this petition in good faith to support lawful, consistent, and transparent land-use decision-making in Sangamon County. We ask the Board to protect the integrity of the zoning process and to reject approval of this proposal unless and until it is properly classified and reviewed under the correct standards.

Respectfully submitted,
The undersigned residents and stakeholders of Sangamon County