October 13, 2026 City Planning Commission

The Minneapolis Planning Commission held a public hearing on October 13, 2026, on a proposed zoning-code amendment for data centers and related electric-power infrastructure. Staff proposed allowing principal-use data centers only in the DT1 and DT2 downtown districts, subject to conditional-use review, with a 175,000-square-foot cap on server “white space,” limits on floor location and use of entire buildings, utility coordination, disclosure of expected water and electricity use and generators, and a sound-attenuation plan. The proposal also addressed utility equipment, battery energy storage, and stationary generators. Staff said the city cannot directly regulate facilities by megawatt capacity or air emissions under current state authority. Xcel Energy representatives said the utility supports transparency and responsible growth, expects new customers to pay for infrastructure needed to serve them, and forecasts an approximately 85% carbon-free electricity mix by 2030, compared with about 70% currently.

Public testimony was largely critical of data-center development, with speakers urging an extended moratorium, smaller size limits, no primary-use zoning, stronger environmental and community protections, and consultation with Indigenous communities; some speakers supported the proposal as written or cited potential economic and infrastructure benefits. The commission approved, 6–1, an amendment directing staff to develop an overlay-district approach for data centers in DT1 and DT2, with no primary zoning. A separate motion directing staff to reduce the white-space cap to 50,000 square feet was introduced and seconded, but the transcript ends during discussion and does not record its outcome or a final vote on the underlying amendment. Staff anticipated City Council consideration in November, near the moratorium’s November 21 expiration. No procurement activity was identified.