The Dissenting Voice: Commissioner Naumes
During the November 19th vote, Commissioner Courtney Naumes was the sole "NO" vote. Her statement perfectly summarizes the community's concerns that Karis Critical did not meet the burden of proving that this Data Center would meet the 4 requirements to satisfy the 'Conditional Use' standard set forth by Naperville City ordinance 6-3 regarding the violation of city standards.
"I also appreciate the testimonies and materials provided by both the petitioner and the public throughout all of these public hearings.
After reviewing the record, I am actually not sure that this proposal meets the conditional use standards. A data center is unique, which is why it is considered conditional.
The operations of the data center introduce impacts such as noise, resource consumption and activity levels not present in surrounding parcels, raising concerns under Standard 2.1 (Public Health, Safety & General Welfare). This general area is comprised of neighborhoods, parks, forest preserves, and low intensity commercial use.
I believe it makes the proposed use out of character and creates potential adverse effects on the nearby properties, contrary to Standard 2.2.
I would like to acknowledge that the stewardship pledge will be included as a permitting condition... however, it doesn't provide the framework for mitigating resource consumption or noise or health-related impacts. That is a concern I see going forward.
As a result, I don't believe that the proposal supports the normal and orderly development of adjacent properties required by Standard 2.3. For these reasons, I cannot support the conditional use at this time."
NAPERVILLE SAYS “NO DATA CENTER NEAR OUR HOMES”
November 5, 2025
Naperville residents living in Naper Commons, Danada Woods, Fair Meadows, Indian Hill and more are opposed to the building of a data center at the former Nokia site. Due to its proximity to these and other communities, the data center poses a health risk to residents, and will affect quiet enjoyment of their property. Taking advantage of the public comments portion of the Planning and Zoning Committee (PZC) held on November 5th, 2025, Naperville residents expressed opposition to the proposed site of the Karis Critical data center. The packed two hour meeting was extended to allow for the 40+ concerned residents to voice their opposition, resulting in the meeting lasting four hours to accommodate all speakers. The committee was forced to postponed until November 19th, 2025 to allow for rebuttal and cross-examination of any expert witnesses after which the vote was announced by the PZC.
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