A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.

Residents said the 36-megawatt, 211,000 square-foot Karis Critical data facility could bring in major problems, including rising utility bills.

The Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission approved plans for the data center in late 2025. It would be constructed at the northwest corner of Naperville and Warrenville roads.

The decision will come down to a vote by Naperville City Council members that could happen at their meeting Tuesday night.

Neighbors spoke out about the data center during the public comments portion of a city council meeting back in December.

"We have 25 opinions, in writing, on record from Naperville doctors sounding the alarm about the public safety and health risks associated with the petitioners' proposal," said Naperville resident Rich Janor.

They raised concerns about rising utility bills, because of the energy needed to run the facility and potentially harmful emissions.

They also emphasized that most data centers in the Chicago area are on land zoned industrial — and should be, on the grounds that they "generate serious air and noise pollution and public health hazards."

But the Karis Critical data center would be near several residential neighborhoods — some older, some made up of homes built recently, and even a planned one that was approved by the Naperville City Council last year, residents said. It would also be near Herrick Lake, the Danada Forest Preserves, and the Sensory Garden Playground, residents said.

Residents said the data center would require 24 "massive "back-up diesel generators that would run "on a regular schedule and when the electric grid cannot handle the data center's 24/7 needs (about the equivalent of 25,000 homes for a single building). The data center would also require more than 70,000 gallons of diesel to be delivered and stored onsite, advocates said.

"Many residents like myself have small children that are within walking distance of where this facility would be. This is where our kids ride their bikes, where they play on the playground," Janor said on December. "Generators that are part of this facility emit carcinogenic exhaust."

Data centers house servers, and are crucial for rapidly developing artificial intelligence. Environmental and consumer advocates have been issuing red flags about the centers being a drain on resources.

The Citizens Utility Board in December that electric bills in the Chicago area could go up as much as $70 in the next three years because of data centers. The nonprofit utility watchdog has called on state lawmakers to address the growing energy use of these centers, and their impact on rising electric costs.

Some cities already have paused the proliferation of data centers, such as west suburban Aurora, which has established a temporary moratorium on data centers and warehouses until their impact can be studied and addressed.

Officials in Aurora have already confirmed several of the existing data centers have, in fact, contributed to rising utility costs.

Back in Naperville, the agenda for the Naperville City Council meeting Tuesday night said members will "consider the request for approval of a data center." The meeting is set to start at 7 p.m.