Hermantown accepting more public comment on proposed data center

HERMANTOWN — The city of Hermantown opened a second public comment period regarding the proposed Google data center campus.

This comment period focuses on the draft Alternative Urban Areawide Review, or AUAR, and its associated mitigation plan.

This is the second areawide review the city has completed for the controversial project that is the subject of litigation. The other occurred before it was specifically identified that a data center was behind the “light industrial development.”

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The study area includes approximately 278 acres in the southwest corner of the city. This is a smaller geographic footprint and scale than the initial study adopted in October of last year.

Hermantown and Google jointly agreed to the updated study with current information allowing for greater specificity, the city reported.

An AUAR is a tool used to understand how different development scenarios may affect the environment before development occurs. It’s a multi-step process and includes plans mandating how a development will manage environmental impacts, as well as multiple public comment periods.

This 30-day comment period will close July 16. You can view the draft and other associated documents at the city’s website.