Bloomington, IL Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)

Adopted April 28, 2025 by Ordinance No. 2025-034, § 44-1048 of the Zoning Code creates a dedicated set of siting and design standards for data centers, layered on top of ordinary district regulations. Every data center must obtain administrative site plan approval under § 44-1709 before construction. Architectural standards require any building elevation facing a public right-of-way to either change primary facade material, pattern, texture, color or accent every roughly 150 horizontal feet, or devote at least 30% of the facade to windows, doors or similar fenestration; the primary entrance must be visually differentiated from the rest of the facade and project or recess from the adjoining wall plane.

Necessary roof appurtenances such as chimneys, parapets, cooling towers and antennas may exceed the district's height limit but never more than 65 feet. 5 spaces per employee for each development phase before that phase is occupied, driveways carrying continuous truck traffic must be paved at least 25 feet wide, and secure entry points need a turning radius sized for a 26-foot truck so vehicles never have to back onto the public road. Buffering requirements add a natural buffer strip of at least 100 feet, or 10% of the relevant lot dimension if that is less, plus landscape yard treatments (TY-1 or TY-3, depending on yard depth) along property lines not covered by compliant architecture.

Low-frequency noise from the facility is capped at 50 decibels at the lot line, 35 decibels at 25 feet, and 30 decibels at 50 feet, on top of the general noise standard of § 44-911C where the site sits in a B-1 or M-1 district.