Planning commission approves data center standards
The Faribault Planning Commission unanimously approved proposed standards for data centers after eight work sessions and will present them to the City Council. The standards would require conditional use permits, energy and water management plans, noise reporting, dark-sky compliance and other requirements, while residents debated potential health and community impacts.
The Faribault Planning Commission unanimously approved recommendations for regulating data centers after eight work sessions. The proposed standards would require a conditional use permit for any data center or data-mining operation and establish requirements for energy, heat, water and wastewater management, annual noise reports, lighting, and sound dampening. The recommendations will go to the Faribault City Council for consideration on Nov. 24.
Planning Manager Harry Davis said the standards were designed to apply fairly to data centers and other large-scale industries. The commission incorporated several recommendations from the Environmental Commission, including setbacks related to planned residential developments, but declined to prohibit diesel backup generators. Some business representatives supported a balanced approach, while residents including Shodo Spring and Karen Zeller raised concerns about health effects, growth and the role of nearby townships in future decisions.