BEMIDJI — A one-year moratorium on data centers larger than 10,000 square feet is moving through the steps of the approval process in Bemidji.
The Bemidji Planning Commission hosted a public hearing during its sparsely attended meeting Thursday, Aug. 27. The commission is made up of volunteer citizens, who unanimously recommended approval of the moratorium.
Planning Director Jamin Carlson said the city’s legal team put together the ordinance under consideration. He said most moratoriums are in place for a year or less.
“The moratorium’s in place just for a time frame to research and put together an ordinance for something, to make sure you have something in place,” he said.
Carlson described some of the priorities around crafting an ordinance for a data center permitting process.
“If you pay attention to the news, what's happening in some places where these have been put in place, they're using lots of water, lots of electricity, and potentially polluting things. So, you don't really want those things happening in your community,” he said.
The Bemidji Planning Board discussed a data center moratorium during its Aug. 10 meeting. The Planning Board is a different body than the Commission, which is advisory only. The Board consists of members of the Bemidji City Council.
The discussion came about months after an inaccurate news report listed Bemidji among Minnesota places where data centers have been proposed.
“There have been other groups that have actually met in town to talk about data centers,” Carlson said. “There is concern.”
Bemidjians will have another opportunity to comment on the data center moratorium at the next Planning Board meeting on Sept. 14.
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