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Minneapolis council votes to pause large data-center approvals while staff study impacts
Summary
The City Council voted 8–5 to refer a temporary pause on new or expanded data center uses to committee, adopting a compromise amendment to a six-month moratorium that exempts smaller downtown projects; council also approved a citywide research directive.
Council President Elliot Payne called the meeting to order and the City Council took up a cluster of items on data centers in a lengthy debate that ended with a referral of a moratorium as amended.
Council Member Aisha Chowdhury (first speaking to the item) moved to introduce an ordinance imposing a temporary pause on the establishment, reestablishment, or expansion of data center uses and referred the proposal to the Business, Housing and Zoning Committee. Chowdhury said the pause was “not a ban” but a chance to update zoning definitions, collect evidence, and protect infrastructure and neighborhoods while staff and the public weigh regulation options. She told colleagues, “This pause is not a ban. This is not anti growth.”
Vice President Osman proposed an amendment that shortened the moratorium from one year to six months and carved out an exemption for data-center uses under 350,000 square feet in a defined downtown zone. Osman said the change was intended to preserve smaller downtown projects and construction jobs while still giving staff time to research larger impacts: “My motion will limit the timeline from 1 year to 6 months.”
The council debated technical, environmental and economic concerns. Jason Wittenberg, CPED planning manager, explained technical limits and timing: cities cannot regulate certain building systems that are governed by state code and staff expects to bring recommendations and public hearings later in the year. Wittenberg noted that square footage is an imperfect proxy for electrical demand: a 350,000-square-foot data center can, depending on design, accommodate a wide range of power capacities.
Opponents such as Council Member John Schaefer cautioned that overly broad moratoriums can chill investment and cost jobs downtown; supporters including Council Members Wansley and Chavez stressed risks to water, energy and environmental justice in historically overburdened neighborhoods. The council also debated whether state-level utilities regulations and Public Utilities Commission work would address stacking of capacity across projects.
On roll-call, the council carried the referral of the moratorium as amended (Osmond amendment) by 8 ayes to 5 nays. The council immediately adopted a separate legislative directive directing the city’s Legislative Research and Oversight office and CPED to study the fiscal, energy, water, zoning and environmental impacts of data centers and return findings to the council; that research measure passed unanimously.
What’s next: the moratorium referral and ordinance language will be considered in the Business, Housing and Zoning Committee with public hearings scheduled as staff and LRO complete their analyses. The directive asks for material CPED and LRO said they will provide before public hearings so policymakers and residents can weigh tradeoffs.
