Joint Sioux Falls City Council & Lincoln County Commission Meeting | October 27, 2026

The October 27, 2026, joint meeting of the Sioux Falls City Council and Lincoln County Commission focused on data centers and zoning. A Dakota State University representative explained data center types, power and cooling systems, and noted that project-specific details determine resource use and impacts. City and county planning staff outlined current rules: in Sioux Falls, data centers may qualify as light warehousing subject to standards for traffic, screening, enclosed operations, and paved parking; projects that do not meet standards require a conditional-use process. In the county and joint-jurisdiction area, light-warehousing standards apply, and a zoning change would be required in the joint-jurisdiction area. The recently adopted joint-jurisdiction comprehensive plan identifies no future areas for light or heavy industrial uses.

During a 60-minute public-engagement recess and formal public comment, residents raised concerns about the proposed Gemini project and potential data-center impacts, including noise, water and electricity use, environmental and health effects, transparency, and community benefits. Several speakers urged a temporary moratorium or ban; another supported turning project conditions into generally applicable rules without a pause. Officials discussed possible safeguards such as decommissioning bonds and said the city’s Regulatory Oversight Committee would review data-center regulations at meetings scheduled for November 9 and 30, with public feedback invited by November 27. No data-center ordinance, moratorium, contract, purchase, or funding decision was adopted. The bodies approved their agendas and recess motions, then adjourned.