Inver Grove Heights approves one-year moratorium on data centers
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The Inver Grove Heights City Council voted 3-2 on Friday to pause the construction of data centers in the city.
The vote on the one-year moratorium came after residents — who filled the meeting room — expressed opposition to data centers, including one project that’s currently proposed.
Florida-based developer QLevr has proposed building a 54,000-square-foot data center on Carmen Avenue East in Inver Grove Heights. It’s considered to be smaller than most hyperscale data centers in Minnesota.
Earlier this week, city council members delayed a decision on whether to pause the construction of data centers until Friday’s meeting. The earlier meeting ended with frustrated residents shouting to express their displeasure.
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Speakers at Friday’s meeting urged council members to approve the pause.
“Nobody wants them. Nobody — Lakeville, Burnsville, Eagan, Otsego, Duluth. Nobody wants these things,” said resident Bob Quirk.
Resident Pam Glenn echoed concerns about data centers’ environmental impacts — as well as financial impacts on the city and its potential to attract future residents and businesses.
“If we don’t pass a moratorium, they can walk all over us,” Glenn said, referring to the data center project’s developer.
QLevr had previously threatened legal action against the city if the project was put on hold, though many residents expressed willingness to pay legal fees with taxpayer dollars.
Council member Tony Scales spoke to residents in the audience before voting in favor of the pause at Friday’s meeting.
“Most of you expressed your desire to stand with the city — and if you’re willing to stand with the city, I’ll stand with you,” Scales said.
The intent of the moratorium is to give the city time to study the potential impacts of data centers.
The council on Friday also postponed consideration of the site plan for the proposed data center.
That’s after residents presented a petition with over 700 signatures to the state's Environmental Quality Board on Thursday night, seeking an environmental review of the project. The petition for an environmental assessment worksheet, or EAW, pauses the proposed development for up to 30 days to further assess potential impacts.
Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
