Data center debate enters next phase in Monticello
Monticello City Council approved a Data Center Planned Unit Development ordinance despite ongoing resident opposition. The debate has shifted to future applications, legal challenges, and county-level restrictions, including a moratorium enacted by Wright County. A lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy challenging the city's environmental review is also ongoing.
The Monticello City Council recently approved a Data Center Planned Unit Development (DCPUD) ordinance, a regulatory framework for future data center construction. This decision came after months of intense public debate and a 4-1 council vote, with council member Charlotte Gabler dissenting. While city officials emphasize the ordinance doesn't approve specific projects, residents like Nate Wallin and Jenna Van Den Boom of "Stop the Monticello Data Centers" continue to organize, citing concerns over water use, electrical demand, noise, and environmental impacts.
The approval has not ended the controversy. The debate is now focused on potential future applications, legal challenges, and broader regulatory efforts. Monticello Tech has proposed a 550-acre technology campus, and Scannell Properties previously discussed a 106-acre concept, though neither has city approval. Residents are questioning how strictly the ordinance's standards, such as setbacks, will be enforced, particularly if developers seek variances, which Minnesota law prevents cities from entirely prohibiting.
Further complicating the situation, a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy challenges the city's Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR), arguing it didn't adequately assess potential impacts. Concurrently, Wright County commissioners have enacted a one-year moratorium on new data center applications in townships to study potential regulations, although this specific moratorium is not expected to halt the Monticello Tech concept. Monticello resident Ben Anderson is also circulating a petition for charter-city status to increase local oversight. The multi-faceted debate reflects a statewide trend as Minnesota communities grapple with hyperscale data center development.