Commissioners uphold planning board decision on data center CUPs

The plug was pulled by county commissioners Tuesday morning on the location of a planned Geronimo Power Nobles County Powered Data Park project in the agricultural preservation district.

On a 3-2 vote, commissioners moved to uphold the Nobles County Planning Commission's recommendation to deny a proposed zoning text amendment adding data centers as a conditional use in the ag preservation district. The proposed amendment would have added data centers to the list of 19 land uses that may be established in that district as a CUP.  

Mia Benson, a legal representative of Flaherty & Hood, which has been working with the county on matters pertaining to the proposed data center, explained prior to Tuesday morning's vote that commissioners had three options to consider Tuesday morning, They narrowly accepted the first option, and the Planning Commission's recommendation was upheld without pursuing alternatives. The existing ordinance will remain unchanged, and data centers will not become a conditional use in the ag preservation district.

Other options presented to commissioners Tuesday included upholding the Planning Commission’s recommendation, but directing staff to work on developing an alternative ordinance amendment; and overruling the Planning Commission's recommendation and adopting the proposed text amendment as drafted.

Voting in favor of the motion to uphold the Planning Commission's recommendation without pursuing alternatives were commissioners Justin Ahlers (who made the motion), Bob Paplow (who seconded it) and Gene Metz. Voting no were commissioners Chris Dybevick and Robert Demuth Jr.