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Data centers are drawing headlines nationally as well as locally, with Inver Grove Heights in the midst of a hotly contested debate. Rosemount has a Meta data center nearing completion and just passed a one-year moratorium, Hermantown has a proposal from Google being debated, and Minneapolis just passed a six-month moratorium.
Often these issues depend on local zoning, so what are the rules in your community?
Here’s a rundown of where data centers are allowed in surrounding communities and what restrictions might be in place:
- West St. Paul: A raft of recent zoning changes included a new definition for data centers and restricted them to the general industrial zone and required a 300-foot setback from any building or equipment to a residential property line.
- Mendota Heights: Currently prohibited by default, and no plans to consider specific restrictions.
- Inver Grove Heights: In late June, the City Council narrowly approved a moratorium on data centers, giving them one year to explore zoning changes. There’s already a lawsuit threatened.
- South St. Paul: “A data center cannot be built in South St. Paul under the city’s current zoning code,” read a recent social media post from the city exploring this exact question.
- Eagan: The City Council approved a one-year moratorium in February. In June, an existing data center filed a lawsuit.
- St. Paul: Not addressed in code, no restrictions. However, the St. Paul City Council Policy Committee will be discussing data centers on Wednesday, July 8.
- Lilydale: It’s not a permitted use and there’s not much available land where one could go.
- Mendota: Likewise short on space, but they haven’t discussed restrictions.
- Sunfish Lake: No business/industrial zones where a data center could go.
- Dakota County: In general, counties don’t have the authority to enact zoning rules. There are certain edge cases around specific land use in unincorporated areas (shoreland and flood plain management, etc.) where a county could have authority, but it’s limited. The county board is interested in the broader impacts of data centers, especially for resource usage, and is monitoring proposals and their potential impacts.
- Minnesota: Last year the state legislature extended a sales tax credit for data centers and also passed some restrictions. This year lawmakers proposed a two-year moratorium, but with industry and union pushback, it didn’t pass.
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