City council members in Rochelle, northern Illinois, have postponed its decision on whether to approve a data center project.

At a meeting held on Monday, councilors voted to table the matter after deciding that more time was needed to debate the proposal.

Concerns expressed by council members and residents about the impact of the proposed data center on local utilities and the amount of jobs created were cited as reasons for the postponement, according to reporting by WIFR.

The council was meant to consider whether to authorize a development agreement between Midwest Power Investors LLC, an affiliate of real estate company LFF Industrial, and the City of Rochelle that would have allowed the construction of a data center offering a minimum of 48MW.

According to plans submitted by the company, the data center would be built in three phases. The first would see the construction of a 48MW facility, and the second and third – both of which are optional and would require additional approval – could expand the data center’s capacity up to 100MW and more than 150MW respectively.

The data center would be located on a 75-acre land parcel located north of Steward Road, west of the BNSF RR and south of the I-88.

City councillors did not specify when the project would next be considered.

Rochelle is located in northern Illinois, around 80 miles (128km) west of Chicago. According to the city, Rochelle is home to two other data centers operated by insurance company Allstate and financial services company Northern Trust.