Activists, city planners dissatisfied with Minneapolis City Council's vote on data center regulations

Less than 24 hours after the Minneapolis City Council voted to narrowly pass new regulations for data centers within the city, those for and against them were left less than satisfied with the plan.

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Under the ordinance, which still needs the approval of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, data centers would be limited to two downtown zones, limited to existing buildings and would need full approval of the council.

Kalani Matus of the Climate Justice Committee says he's not entirely sure he's satisfied with the regulations.

"There's a long history of rules and regulations not being followed up on, you know?" Matus said. "Certainly with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has found themselves at odds with the CJC over, you know, problem polluters that they've failed to regulate until enough people make a fuss about it."

Those who support data centers in Minneapolis argue they're needed to help create jobs and bolster the city's tax base.

"We've got a city that's got 9 million vacant square feet of office space, right? We're looking at adaptive reuse as probably the only way out of that," said Dan McConell of the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council. "I'm a taxpayer in the city of Minneapolis. I think that we're looking at a double-digit tax increase. And we've seen that for a couple of years. And unless we're involved for investment in our city and create an environment where people want to invest in our city."

Minneapolis' data center moratorium is set to expire on Nov. 21.