Photo by Wanda Hanson
The combined Harmony City Council, EDA and Planning and Zoning once again reviewed a revised draft of their proposed data center ordinance September 16 The group met in the gymnasium of the Harmony Community Center to provide more room for the ever-increasing public audience.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Steve Donney announced the three goals of the meeting: to review the draft, to see if the group at the table had any other suggestions and to allow public comment if there was time.
Attorney Soren Mattick of Campbell Knutson in the Cities, reviewed draft 6 of the ordinance, highlighting changes made since the last draft.
One change in the ordinance was to further clarify the closed loop system. A description of the closed loop and its technology would be included in the application, including identification of any water or liquid discharge that will occur during the system startup and operation.
A third party soils and geotechnical study will be required.
A 3D acoustic model will be required to assess whether the data center noise levels will comply with MPCA standards. In addition, an annual study will check for continued compliance,
The maximum height of a center was changed from the original 60 feet to 40 feet. Shipping containers will not be allowed as a construction material for the center.
Water may be used for the initial startup of the closed loop system and as necessary for ongoing maintenance, but ongoing water use would not be allowed during industrial operation.
The setback from agricultural property lines was changed to at least 400 feet.
All compliance monitoring and inspection costs will be the responsibility of the data center developer or operator.
The city will be authorized to establish and set fines that may be assessed if any violations occur.
The city will not enter into any NDAs and will process applications with complete transparency.
Mattick reminded the group that the ordinance would state that a data center could be built if it met the requirements set down in the ordinance. He detailed the primary ways to enforce an ordinance, stating that the moment a CUP (conditional use permit) is violated, the company would lose that CUP and no longer have the ability to conduct business. The city might need to sue the company to enforce that action.
Mattick stressed that the ordinance was not up for approval at this time. There is still time to make desired changes. “This is the beginning of the discussion – not the end,” Mattick pointed out.
Councilman Keith McIntosh asked, “What if we decide not to do an ordinance at all?”
Mattick answered that if they passed an ordinance that says no data centers for a time period, there would be no path. A developer could come in and present their own ordinance; the city would then be under the gun to respond in a certain time period. Mattick shared that more communities are deciding they want to determine the criteria themselves. With an ordinance in place, the council would be able to deny applications that do not meet their criteria.
Public Comment
Photo by Wanda Hanson
Photo by Wanda Hanson
The public was given time to ask questions; Mattick responded to the questions once all citizens were given a chance to speak. For clarity, Mattick’s answers are included after specific citizen comments.
One question from the public was, “Who’d be responsible for the property if the data center closes?” Mattick answered that the property would still be owned by the company which could reuse or repurpose the building just as in any case. Necessary applications would need to be made to the city for any alternative uses requiring such applications.
Another citizen asked several questions. Could they restrict data centers to just one? Who will ultimately be the owner? Would liquid discharges be identified as well as how liquids are discharged? Who would be reporting the electrical use – MiEnergy or the data center?
Mattick responded that they could take a look at limiting to just one data center. At the time of application, the owner or end user is often not known. He pointed out that liquid discharges will be through the city system as will the incoming water. The data on electrical use of the center will come from the bills from the provider, in this case, MiEnergy.
Aaron Bishop asked if there would be an opportunity between the Planning and Zoning meeting and the City Council meeting for citizens to say yes or no to the data center ordinance. The opportunity for public input will come at the public hearing which will be the same night as the Planning and Zoning meeting.
A question was asked about how the normal operations of a data center would sound day-to-day rather than just the peak sounds of the generators at 100% operation. Mattick noted that the section about noise does talk about studies to show daytime and nighttime noise levels at different distances as well as including the peak noise levels of generators.
A homeowner in Harmony commented that she felt this was not a good use of prime farmland. She also questioned the use of metal as a building material.
Michael Himlie commented that he’d gone door-to-door knocking to learn public opinion. He saw a “severe disconnect between citizens and the elected officials” and strongly advised a citywide survey of the residents.
Walker Ward shared that he thinks of Harmony as a booming small town with a charming community. Ward asked, “Does this fit our style? What is the future of Harmony 20 years down the line? Does the impact of this limit us? Is this focusing too much on the data center?”
Mattick noted that the need for a data center and whether it was appropriate was a question for the people of Harmony and not himself. He did say that the ordinance could eliminate metal as a building material if the group wished.
Citizens were encouraged to submit further comments via email to the city; the comments will be shared with the entire group. After discussing logistics, Planning and Zoning set their next meeting to be held October 14 at 7 p.m. in the community center gymnasium. The data center ordinance public hearing will take place at that meeting.
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