Minneapolis weighs new data center regulations, angering many residents 

The Minneapolis City Planning Commission, a 10-member body of elected officials that advises the City Council on land use, advanced regulations on Oct. 13 that would rein in the size, noise and geographic reach of data centers within city limits.

The commission’s move aimed to balance demands from many residents to limit data centers with the need for significant tax revenue that would flow to the city from the use of empty downtown buildings. 

The proposed regulations, developed within the city’s department of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED), would restrict data center development to two zoning districts in downtown, including Nicollet Mall and the North Loop. 

Initially, CPED proposed allowing them to use up to 175,000 square feet of white space – the interior area that houses servers and other technology. But commissione...