A lawsuit over a proposed data center in Urbana will continue after a Champaign County Common Pleas court judge ruled that the City of Urbana must provide a complete record of an April Building and Zoning Appeals Board hearing.
The lawsuit was filed by Thor Equities, the developer behind the proposed data center, and others after the city rejected its site plan and later approved a 12-month moratorium on new data center projects. Thor argues those actions stopped the project from moving forward and appealed the city’s decision to court.
In the latest ruling, the court found the record submitted for the appeal was incomplete and ordered that a full transcript of the April 13 zoning appeals hearing be added to the case. Thor Equities must submit the transcript by August 3 and will pay the cost of preparing it.
The ruling does not decide whether the city acted properly or whether the data center can move forward. Instead, it ensures the court has a complete record before reviewing the legal issues raised in the appeal.
Once the transcript is filed, Thor Equities must submit its written legal arguments by September 2. The City of Urbana will have until October 2 to respond, followed by a final reply from Thor later that month. After that process is complete, the court will decide the next steps in the case.
The proposed data center remains on hold while the lawsuit moves through the court system.
