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City Council — March 24, 2026

The meeting was dominated by a high volume of emotional and technical public testimony regarding the perceived health and environmental threats of data centers.

Date Tuesday, March 24, 2026 Duration 1.9h Speakers 39 Decisions 5 Contentious
📄 Agenda ▶ Video 📄 Minutes

Public ⁠impact

Issues from this meeting with documented community impact.
01

Data Center Zoning and Performance Standards

Significant changes to zoning (M1 vs M2), separation buffers (up to 0.5 miles), and noise decibel limits. Affected: Residents living near industrial zones, data center developers, and the city's tax base.
zoning change

Decisions ⁠logged

Every recorded vote, with timestamps and dissents.
Motion to allow remote participation for Alderman Seville.
Motion made by Alderman Smith, seconded by Alderman Garza.
Carried
Motion to approve the appointment of a Sergeant at Arms.
Motion made by Alderman Smith, seconded by Alderman Franco.
Carried
Posthumous proclamation of March 26 as Tony Galvez Day.
Recognizing the legacy of Tony Galvez and his work with the Antonio Foundation.
Approved
Motion to extend the public comment period for the remaining seven speakers.
The council agreed to allow the remaining speakers 3 minutes each.
Carried (12-0)
Approval of the Consent Agenda and Director Council Consent Agenda.
Includes multiple resolutions: Air One Equipment contract ($316k), LDV Custom Specialty Vehicles ($200k), L3 Harris agreement ($284,189), Schroeder Asphalt Services ($1.058M), and others.
Motion carries

Topics ⁠discussed

Click a topic to expand quotes and full context.
▶ 01:14 Procedural Motions

The council addressed motions for remote participation for Alderman Seville and the appointment of a Sergeant at Arms.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker
▶ 02:29 Mayor's Report and Recognitions

Mayor John Lashes issued a Women's History Month proclamation, recognized local youth basketball champions, and issued a posthumous proclamation for Tony Galvez.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker
▶ 16:09 Public Comment: Data Center Regulation

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to public testimony regarding the impact of data centers, specifically concerning noise pollution, water usage, zoning, proximity to residential areas, infrasound, water contamination, and the need for stricter zoning and enforcement.

Speakers: Anonymous Aurora resident, Victoria Pavek, Rick Pandel, Ashley Stat, Rick Lawrence, Luis Hernandez, Kevin Lennon, Laura Evans, Keith Evans, Leo Wright, Brian Castro, Marcy Kirsch, Lynn Farmer, Julie Moraz, Paul Jaskowiak, Abhijit Chaudhry, Speaker Z (Mr. Chaudhary), Speaker S26 (Danielle Fisher)
▶ 32:14 Public Comment: Law Enforcement and Public Safety

A resident shared concerns regarding unauthorized food vending near a school, traffic issues, and an alleged incident of police misconduct.

Speakers: Luis Hernandez, Kevin Bishop
▶ 74:35 Consent Agenda Approval

The council reviewed and approved various resolutions and ordinances, including fire department equipment purchases, vehicle construction, municipal utility duty taxes, and road maintenance contracts.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker, Alderwoman Garza, Alderwoman Smith
▶ 77:56 Responsible Data Center Ordinance Deliberation

The council discussed proposed ordinances for data center performance standards, specifically focusing on zoning restrictions (M2 vs M1/ORI), separation buffers (1,000/1,500 feet vs 0.5 miles), and decibel limits for noise control.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker, Speaker S29 (Alderman White), Speaker S33 (Alderman Brewer), Speaker S34 (Alderwoman Smith), Speaker S35 (Tracy Basic), Speaker S36 (Alderman Messiacos), Speaker S37 (Alderman Larson)

Controversy & ⁠dissent

Where the board, the community, or the agenda diverged.

Potentially controversial issues

01

Data Center Regulation and Zoning

Residents expressed intense concern regarding noise pollution (specifically low-frequency infrasound), water usage, and potential health impacts, while industry representatives and some residents argued for the economic necessity of data centers to support the tax base.
Board position: The board is actively deliberating on a balance between strict environmental/noise protections and maintaining economic development viability.
Internal dissent
While no formal split vote was recorded on the final ordinance during this session, deliberations showed internal tension between restricting data centers to M2 zoning (to protect residents) versus the risk of 'exclusionary zoning' and loss of developable land.
high concern
02

Law Enforcement Accountability and Safety

A resident alleged police misconduct and criticized the lack of transparency in the civilian review board and emergency response quality.
Board position: The Mayor directed staff to follow up with the resident to address the specific allegations.
medium concern

Community vs. board tension

Action ⁠items

Who owes what, by when.
Follow up with members of the public regarding concerns raised during public comment within the scope of city authority.
Assigned: Staff · Due: Following adjournment
Connect with resident Luis Hernandez to obtain his phone number.
Assigned: Deputy Mayor
Prepare changes to the ordinance based on council deliberations regarding sound variations and revenue questions.
Assigned: City Staff

Notable ⁠statements

We really need to make a decision tonight, I implore you to do so, so that we don't have to fall back on another extension on that moratorium. — Anonymous Aurora resident · Urging the council to finalize data center regulations to prevent new applicants from bypassing stricter rules during an interim period. ▶ 18:00
We're willing to make compromises to try to address some of the concerns. We're willing to go to quarterly instead of monthly [generator testing]. — Kevin Lennon (CME Group) · Representing a long-standing data center tenant offering to adjust testing schedules to mitigate community noise concerns. ▶ 38:54
The city suggests that there should be... clear day and nighttime noise limits... but what about all the other properties of sound that are being completely ignored? — Marcy Kirsch · Criticizing the city's proposed noise ordinances for failing to account for low-frequency sound/hertz levels. ▶ 59:54
I strongly support restricting data centers to M2 zoning only. — Speaker Z (Mr. Chaudhary) · Public comment regarding proposed data center regulations. ▶ 68:53
If we limited it as the plan commission suggested [M2 only], there are none [developable sites]. — Unidentified speaker · Discussing the impact of a 0.5-mile buffer on available development land. ▶ 105:46
Do we think that would be enough to push us over the line into being considered exclusionary zoning, legally? — Speaker S37 (Alderman Larson) · Questioning the legal risk of highly restrictive separation buffers. ▶ 107:19

Public ⁠comment

What residents said — verbatim, with timestamps.
No public comments were identified in this meeting.
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Report composed by grok-4.3, gemma-4-26b, grok-4-fast, grok-4.20-0309-reasoning · analyzed 2026-05-30.