City commissions at odds over data center regulations, but agree timeline is moving fast
Faribault planning and environmental commissioners are struggling to agree on proposed standards for future data center developments, including lighting protections for adjoining properties. The planning commission rejected several environmental recommendations and plans to continue deliberations before a public hearing in November.
Faribault’s planning and environmental commissions are developing standards for data centers after the City Council directed the bodies to work together. During an October planning commission work session, commissioners rejected most of the environmental commission’s recommendations, including language intended to protect neighboring farms and other nonresidential properties from data center lighting.
Environmental Commissioner Miranda Lamb said the commissions had not been given enough opportunities to collaborate and warned that the city’s timeline was moving too quickly. Planning Commission Chair Barton Jackson acknowledged that another joint meeting would have been useful but said the work session was limited to planning commission members. The planning commission is scheduled to continue reviewing the recommendations on Oct. 19, with a public hearing expected at its first meeting in November.