CBS News reports…

The Minneapolis City Council is scheduled to consider a data center regulations ordinance on Thursday.

According to the city’s website, the ordinance would amend “regulations for certain uses associated with distribution and use of electric power, including data centers, electric or gas substations, backup generators, utility boxes, and battery energy storage systems.”

The Minneapolis Committee of the Whole discussed the proposed ordinance for over two hours on Monday before voting to forward it to the full council.

On June 25, the City Council approved a five-month pause on data center development, temporarily halting new data center projects to allow city staff to study regulations and examine concerns about environmental impacts, energy use and public safety. The moratorium expires on Nov. 21, according to city officials.

The proposal, in part, says a new data center may only be established in a building existing on Jan. 1, 2027, and that the floor area of a facility “shall be limited to no more than (50,000) square feet on any zoning lot.”