NORTH MANKATO — North Mankato leaders will discuss pressing pause on data centers as they weigh whether to impose a yearlong moratorium to study how the rapidly growing industry should be regulated.
At the work session Monday, the City Council will decide whether additional time is needed to study data center development before any new projects are proposed in the city.
The proposed ordinance would impose a 12-month citywide moratorium on new or expanded data centers while directing staff and consultants to study appropriate zoning districts, operational standards and local impacts before recommending potential amendments to the city’s zoning code.
The draft defines a large-scale data center as a facility exceeding 1,500 square feet used for storing, managing, processing or transmitting digital data, including associated infrastructure such as cooling systems, generators and water storage.
North Mankato currently contains a number of “data centers,” generally as parts of businesses or institutions.
“A moratorium would not affect any current data center but could restrict their expansion,” the proposed ordinance clarifies.
Though no official resolution will be made, staff outlines three future options for the council — take no action, direct staff to study data centers and potential zoning changes without a moratorium or adopt the interim ordinance temporarily prohibiting future data center development while the study is completed.
In a July 2 email to the council from Development Director Mike Fischer and City Attorney Chris Kennedy, it’s noted North Mankato has not received an application for a data center and the city is not currently under a non-disclosure agreement related to a data center.
Minnesota law allows cities to adopt interim ordinances such as this while studying potential zoning changes and the documents state a moratorium is intended to allow for evaluation of land-use regulations without pressure from pending development applications, but requires the city to adopt findings supporting the need for the temporary restriction.
Included in the work session packet is guidance from the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board explaining that data centers may require environmental review depending on project characteristics, including electricity generation, energy storage, hazardous materials, wastewater, water appropriation, floor area and land-use changes.
If adopted, the ordinance would prohibit construction or expansion of data centers and prevent the city from accepting or approving related permit applications during the moratorium.
The discussion comes amid growing concerns raised by members of the public at the local, state and federal levels regarding the environmental impacts of large hyperscale data centers, particularly on water and energy demands. Recent one-year moratoriums adopted in Eagan, Inver Grove Heights and Rosemount are noted in the packet.
In North Mankato, months of public debate over potential data center development and a since-dismissed lawsuit by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy challenged the city’s Alternative Urban Areawide Review, or AUAR, process for a previously contemplated industrial development.
The developer, Oppidan, ended discussions on a proposed large-scale data center in fall 2025, leaving no active proposal before the city.
A similar ordinance is set to be discussed in Mankato during a July 13 public hearing and subsequent City Council vote.