Menomonie City Council Approves Data Center Ordinance Change

The Menomonie City Council voted to approve a zoning ordinance change aimed at regulating proposed data centers at its meeting on Monday.

The change comes after months of opposition from community members to a proposed data center on land annexed from the Town of Red Cedar over the summer. The company behind the project, Balloonist LLC, had proposed a $1.6 billion facility at the site.

Some local residents began organizing against the project in September, finding support from Menomonie Mayor Randy Knaack as well. They raised environmental concerns common with similar data center projects across the country, specifically on water and energy needs. Early plans for the proposed data center also called for about 75,000 gallons of water per day on average.

In response to that pushback from the community, the Menomonie City Council decided to pause planning for the facility. In December, the Menomonie Plan Commission recommended a zoning code change to separate data centers from typical warehousing districts.

City of Menomonie Public Works Director David Schofield says the change was necessary because the City is required to accommodate legal land uses. Prior to the update, data centers would have fallen under the definition of warehousing in the zoning code.

On Monday, the City Council unanimously approved that zoning code change. Under the new ordinance, the zoning code’s definition of warehousing was changed to exclude data centers. A new industrial zoning district was created specifically to cover the facilities.

Notably, the update does not prohibit the City from moving forward with the data center project in the future. Mayor Knaack says it gives them more power to negotiate better terms with developers and address community concerns.