Waite Park City Council unanimously backs year-long data center moratorium

The Waite Park City Council has unanimously enacted a year-long moratorium on new data center projects, effective immediately. City officials, led by Planning and Community Development Director Jon Noerenberg, stated the move is a precautionary measure to allow staff time to develop appropriate ordinance standards before any projects are proposed. Noerenberg highlighted concerns over water usage, citing that large data centers can consume vast amounts of water annually. While no specific data center proposals have been made in Waite Park, the council's decision was influenced by observations of industry booms in other areas, such as Becker, where companies like Google and Amazon have considered projects. Citizen Donny Daubanton attended the meeting holding a "NO DATA CENTERS" sign, expressing concerns about environmental impacts, land use, and the potential for data centers to be used for AI, advocating for a longer moratorium or permanent ban. City staff will now study data center impacts and draft new regulations, which will require planning commission approval before reaching the city council. The moratorium can be lifted earlier if new ordinances are established. This action by Waite Park follows similar considerations in other Central Minnesota cities, with Sartell having recently revised its rules to require conditional use permits and public hearings for data center-related projects.