On the topic of data centers, Northfield residents made clear Thursday that their voices would be heard — and, more specifically, their hands.
About two hours after Planning Commission Chair Bill Kuhlmann gave up trying to hold back applause from an audience that filled the council chamber and two overflow rooms, the Northfield Planning Commission moved toward banning hyperscale data centers, directing staff to formulate a model for the ban based on power consumption.
The second agenda item began as a request from staff to address what was described as a “typo” or “error” in the Land Development Code surrounding data processing facilities, or data centers. Specifically, a setback of 3,950 feet from planned parks, trails or other recreational features was recommended to be changed to a 200-foot setback. The 3,950-foot setback meant it was effectively impossible for any data center to be proposed.
That didn’t jibe well with the Northfield community, which showed up to the Planning Commission meeting in droves. A broad swath of the community packed the chambers and overflow rooms, and about two dozen residents spoke in opposition to the data center. Many questioned the motives and timing of the change, which Community Development Director Scott Wopata said was merely due to his recent hiring and the department’s ongoing overhaul of the Land Development Code.
The decision comes as the city of Northfield has worked to attract industrial development to its Northwest Industrial Park, which it advertises on the city webpage as “a prime data center and industrial development opportunity.” One of the city’s main strategic priorities as of late has been to diversify its tax revenue, focusing largely on industrial development in the northwest park.
Mathias Hughey, the city planner, also noted the city’s strict environmental regulations that would still apply to any proposed development. Once Kuhlmann opened the floor to public comment on the topic, residents made it clear they weren’t budging on the matter.
As the public quickly learned during the meeting, the comment period isn’t meant for questions to be answered. However, as nonvoting commission member City Councilor Kathleen Holmes noted, staff would follow up to questions via whatever contact method is provided. On his computer during the meeting, Wopata kept an ongoing Microsoft Word document with each question raised by the public.
Evelyn Bauer, a local youth of Northfield, was among the first five speakers at the meeting. She cited a study out of the Science, Technology and Public Policy program housed in the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. She even had printed QR codes for others in attendance to find the study themselves.
“According to the article, data centers, quote, ‘increase local electric utility rates by driving up overall energy demand,’ end quote,” she said. “The study goes on to say that the increased rates are passed on to residents. … Another point discussed is the fact that tax breaks for data centers, quote, ‘do not deliver the promised economic benefits, such as high-paying jobs, and they reduce local tax revenues while shifting financial burdens onto communities and schools,’ end quote. This is something that our community is already struggling with, and would only be catalyzed by a data center.”
Another speaker, the only speaker not currently from the city of Northfield, brought up the Niagara Bottling plant in Elko New Market, which Northfield’s state Rep. Kristi Pursell has also mentioned as impacting residents’ water supplies. She had residents of local townships testify for her bill proposal in the last Legislative Session that would’ve required the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to notify all impacted residents of development related to their aquifer.
Peter Jacobi, a Northfielder who spoke about choosing to live here for the town having “a little bit of town with a little bit of country,” spoke about his possible future purchase of Vixen Acres, an 80-acre equestrian facility in the Dakota County portion of Northfield’s outskirts. He said a data center being allowed here would make him “second guess those things.”
Many other speakers, including Northfielder Arlen Malecha, spoke about the impact on local electric grids, water quality and even moral issues tied to data centers, especially hyperscale ones focused on AI-driven demand.
“We do thank you for this tonight, but the perception is you’re going to do what you want to do regardless of what input you get from the citizens tonight, and I hope that’s not the case,” Malecha said. “I trust that’s not the case. But again, perception is reality. So I think the bottom line thing that I wanted to say tonight is, if you polled everybody in this room, the overall direction would be is that we don’t want data centers in Northfield, regardless of whatever the case may be.
“It’s going to put strain on the water. It’s going to put strain on electricity. It’s going to raise expenses for the taxpayers. So, unless you can put in writing an ordinance that that is not going to happen, I just don’t see why you would vote for going forward and allowing a data center in Northfield. So, again, please take everything you hear into consideration tonight. And, if I had my druthers, there would just be an ordinance that says ‘We don’t allow data centers in Northfield.’”
While that wasn’t exactly the direction from the commission, since certain small-scale operations could be considered data centers and banning them could open the city up to litigation, the commission did seem to follow the direction of the residents’ demands. A timeline of two months was given for staff to develop a plan to ban hyperscale data centers based on a power-consumption model.
The motion, which would recommend to City Council that the city list data-processing facilities as a prohibited use in Northfield, passed unanimously.