Minneapolis City Council to vote on data centers Thursday

Minneapolis City Council to vote on data centers Thursday Callan Gray KSTP Minneapolis to vote on data centers Thursday In less than 24 hours, the Minneapolis City Council will make a pivotal vote on whether to allow data centers in the city. The current proposal would require data centers to be in two downtown districts, be 150,000 square feet or smaller, only operate in existing office space, and not be the primary use of a building. In an update Wednesday, Council Member Jamal Osman pledged to work “to preserve the tighter size limit, the renewable-energy requirement, and public review in the final ordinance.” Others are still pushing for a total ban, which did not advance in Committee this week. On Wednesday, Council Member Soren Stevenson said, “If a full ban fails again tomorrow, we will bring back a proposal that includes overlay zoning again as well,” which he explained would allow City Council members and the Planning Commission to hold public hearings when evaluating a proposed data center development on a case-by-case basis. Stevenson said he and the others plan to bring forward more amendments to “do everything we can to protect Minneapolis from the interests of AI and Big Tech.” There is a moratorium in place, but that expires in about two weeks. The City Council implemented the pause to allow the city to create new data center standards. “Will small-scale data centers be a cure-all for revenue generation? I’ve already said no,” said Council Member Elizabeth Shaffer. “Is it a step in the right direction for some revenue generation and property tax relief? Yes.”