Minneapolis City Council grapples with future of data centers
Mpls City Council discusses data center moratorium
The Minneapolis City Council is considering a moratorium on data centers in the city. FOX 9's Soyoung Kim has the latest.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Communities across Minnesota and the country are grappling with the future of data centers possibly coming to town or expanding in their area.
The Minneapolis City Council also debated Thursday where it stands on a potential moratorium on the issue.
Evaluating value vs. impact
What we know:
Data centers were at the center of a Minneapolis City Council discussion Thursday regarding whether to introduce a moratorium on data center uses.
What they're saying:
Minneapolis City Council member Aurin Chowdhury is the author of this ordinance.
"What I do want to say is data centers, the growth of them, it is one of the foremost issues for the cities across the country. We're seeing large expansion. Cities are all trying to determine their land-use practices, and it's important that government is responsible and takes the time to consider what it means for a city," said Chowdhury.
"My intention was to have some deliberative conversations and wait for the state legislative cycle to conclude in which they're discussing data centers right now, and then have an introduction with language with our staff to talk to."
City council discussion
Some council members were in favor of starting a conversation about a possible moratorium and raised their concerns about data centers Thursday.
"We do have other means of exploring bringing in additional revenue. That also doesn't mean we have to allow corporate players to come in and suck up all of our natural resources and also do other harmful effects," said Robin Wonsley, Minneapolis City Council member.
The other side:
Some council members say a moratorium is not the right conversation for the future of a city with a downtown core already struggling with high office vacancies.
"I think a blanket moratorium is not the solution. It’s a blunt tool that we have right now. I think overall it is already sending unclear signals to the market about what Minneapolis is doing," said Elizabeth Shaffer, Minneapolis City Council member.
President & CEO of MPLS Downtown Council Adam Duininck says data centers have proven valuable and could be a part of the solution to bring in additional revenue to the city to offset increasing tax burdens on residents.
"I know that data centers is a quickly evolving issue in the city, but it’s also one where we’ve also seen some success. Just the investment in the Sleep Number building alone has yielded a value increase of over eight times what the building was used for before," said Duininck.
He also says the impact to a rural area is very different than exploring data centers in an urban setting.
"There’s already capacity in our electricity system and our utilities. There’s already capacity for these sorts of developments to take place in the city core in the built environment. This I think is something that is misunderstood," said Duininck.
What's next:
City council members were divided, but did not kill the idea of a moratorium Thursday. The council did approve to postpone further discussion of the item until the May 21st meeting.