Minneapolis City Council 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 dev...