Minneapolis City Council approves new data center limits and regulations
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The Minneapolis City Council narrowly approved new data center regulations on a 7-6 vote Thursday evening, including a controversial proposal to require council approval of any new data center. The regulations limit new centers to existing buildings in two zoning districts downtown.
Council members have said Mayor Jacob Frey told them he doesn’t support the idea of voting on data centers on a case-by-case basis and he could veto the measure. A temporary moratorium that blocks most new data centers in Minneapolis, with some exceptions downtown, expires Nov. 21.
Data centers aren’t new, but they have become a national political flashpoint because of backlash to artificial intelligence and concerns over the environmental impacts of hyperscale centers. In Minneapolis, a vocal faction of residents oppose all new data centers, no matter their size.
Minneapolis leaders agree regulations specifically tailored to data centers are needed, but disagree on how strict they should be.
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Several council members have argued some data centers could be a small part of a larger effort to boost tax revenue and bring construction jobs to an increasingly empty downtown.
“There’s a gap between a downtown tower nobody invests in and one somebody did,” council member Elizabeth Shaffer said Thursday.
“When downtown values collapse, the tax bill doesn’t disappear. It moves onto homeowners and renters. A handful of small data centers in empty buildings helps move it back. We also have the added economic benefit of utility franchise fees and contracts jobs for our union tradespeople.”
Shaffer said she’s not “pro-data center,” but instead, she said she sees how some data centers, if regulated, could benefit the city.
What passed the council was a compromise proposal between those that want an all-out ban on data centers and those who see how some of the facilities could benefit the city.
For some council members, including Aurin Chowdhury, the case-by-case approval is the next best thing after a ban.
“This would allow us to have an up or down vote that evolves with the industry,” Chowdhury said. “We cannot ask our residents to just trust an industry that has created a high concern over livability and well-being.”
Chowdhury added that case-by-case approval would allow the council to consider the specific use of each center, like “whether it is a data center for AI surveillance technology.”
However, the rules that require case-by-case council approval were added to the proposal Thursday and it's unclear if they could tank the whole ordinance when it reaches Mayor Jacob Frey’s desk.
Council member Jamal Osman has consistently opposed requiring council approval for each center, citing his belief that Frey would veto such a proposal.
Frey’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Frey did not speak about the ordinance at the meeting.
The council would need a minimum of nine votes to override a mayoral veto.
Instead of adjourning, the council plans to reconvene Nov. 20 to address a possible veto — one day before the moratorium ends.
Final vote breakdown:
Aye: Jason Chavez (Ward 9), Robin Wonsley (Ward 2), Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10), Jamison Whiting (Ward 11), Aurin Chowdhury (Ward 12), Soren Stevenson (Ward 8), Elliott Payne (Ward 1)
Nay: Michael Rainville (Ward 3), LaTrisha Vetaw (Ward 4), Linea Palmisano (Ward 13), Pearll Warren (Ward 5), Elizabeth Shaffer (Ward 7), Jamal Osman (Ward 6)
