The Fergus Falls Journal reports…

If a corporation purchased farmland in an Otter Tail County township to build a data center, and the township lacked a zoning ordinance, would the township have any say? That was a question posed at the Otter Tail County Board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

The conversation on data centers was spurred by a request from Deputy Administrator Nick Leonard. He asked for permission to apply to attend a two-day training regarding best practices for data center development that is set to take place in December in South Carolina. It was noted that only 15 applicants from across the U.S. would be accepted.

I hope the Deputy Administrator has an opportunity to share what he learned in the training. It sounds like the conversation at the board meeting posed many potential scenarios and part of the reason was understanding that the county may have more resources than townships to address the topic. Here’s one example of an issue…

Commissioner Sean Sullivan, who represents District 5 of Fergus Falls, responded, “I think we discussed that we would take them as they came before us individually.”

Commissioner Wayne Johnson, who serves District 2, which includes Star Lake, added, “My understanding, currently, is if it stands outside lakeshore we really have nothing to say.”

The county has regulations in place for property that has shoreline on waterfronts , or is in close proximity to a body of water. The oversight of such projects often starts with the county’s Planning Commission. According to the county website, “The planning commission considers projects located in the shoreland areas for conditional use permits” and “projects located in the non-shoreland areas.” Typically, the commissioners review the planning commissioners recommendations and either approve or deny them.

An example of township versus county…

“So it is up to each township then?” Bucholz asked.

“Yes,” Johnson responded.

Bucholz asked what happens if a township doesn’t have a zoning ordinance.

“Landowner rights, basically,” Johnson replied. “The guy wants to sell it and they want to develop it and the township doesn’t have any say in it; it’s game on for the data center.”

And impact on local fire stations…

Another concern that data centers may bring to the doorsteps of townships has to do with the volunteer fire departments that often serve those rural areas. Berg-Moberg explained the power source that a data center may use may require specialized equipment and additional training by fire department members, which may lead to increased costs for townships.

Fergus Falls is not alone in grappling with these decisions.