St. Cloud Data Center Rules Return to Planning Commission With Staff Answers on Water, Taxes
St. Cloud city staff are recommending that the Planning Commission advance proposed data center rules without adding a water-use cap or expanding the required buffer from homes. The draft would restrict the largest facilities to industrial zones, require conditional-use permits and community impact studies, and send the commission’s recommendation to the City Council.
St. Cloud’s Planning Commission is revisiting the city’s first proposed data center regulations after asking staff to address questions about water capacity, residential buffers, tax revenue and facility size. Community Development Director Matt Glaesman recommends keeping the draft unchanged, arguing that projects can already be reviewed against the city’s available water supply and must comply with state noise limits.
The proposal would define a hyperscale data center as one with at least 2,000 servers, require applicants to study impacts on water, noise, air, traffic and electricity, and limit the largest facilities to industrial zones through conditional-use permits. Smaller enterprise facilities could locate in two commercial districts. After the Planning Commission acts, the St. Cloud City Council will hold a public hearing before the rules can take effect.