Technology
Activists, city planners dissatisfied with Minneapolis City Council's vote on data center regulations
By Marcus Chen
Minneapolis City Council narrowly approves data center ordinance that adds regulations
Katherine Langford
Katherine Langford
Editor-in-Chief · Edina, MN
Katherine oversees editorial operations across all six brands. Before joining The Meridan Group, she spent 14 years at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where she led the metro desk through its digital transformation. She holds a Master's in Journalism from Northwestern's Medill School.
More from Katherine →Editor-in-Chief · Friday, November 13, 2026 at 12:16 AM · 1 min read
In this story
The Minneapolis City Council narrowly approved a data center ordinance on Thursday, by a vote of 7 to 6.
The Details
The ordinance includes a variety of regulations, including:
Located in one of two downtown overlay districts
A maximum of 150,000 square feet in size when using renewable energy or up to 50,000 square feet for non-renewable energy Operate in an existing office space Cannot be the primary use of a building Council members who voted aye: Elliott Payne (Ward 1), Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10), Robin Wonsley (Ward 2), Soren Stevenson (Ward 8), Jason Chavez (Ward 9), Jamison Whiting (Ward 11) and Aurin Chowdhury (Ward 12).
Council members who voted nay: Jamal Osman (Ward 6), Michael Rainville (Ward 3), LaTrisha Vetaw (Ward 4), Pearll Warren (Ward 5), Elizabeth Shaffer (Ward 7) and Linea Palmisano (Ward 13).
You can watch the city council meeting
HERE or below and see supporting documents for the data ordinance HERE.
The ordinance will now head to the mayor’s desk for him to approve or veto it.
Minneapolis City Council advances data center plan, lays out rules
About This Story
Local news from Farmington Current
Coverage Area
Farmington, Minnesota
Section
Technology
Published
Friday, November 13, 2026
Reading Time
1 min
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