WJON reports…

The city of St. Cloud has taken a step in regulating any future data center proposals.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Planning Commission voted 4 to 2 to amend the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code to address larger hyper-scale data centers.

The commission held a public hearing at its previous meeting.
Under the amendments, larger hyper-scale data centers would only be allowed as conditional uses in the business parks on the outskirts of town at least a quarter-mile from residential areas. The new language puts in place five, ten, or more steps that any future proposal would have to go through to get city approval. …

If a proposed data center were to come to the city, it would trigger steps like an environmental review, a comprehensive plan amendment, a CUP permit, rezoning, and construction permits. Officials would also be able to ask the applicants about potential impacts like traffic, noise, and city services.