Planning Commission Meeting Date: November 21, 2024
To: Members of the Planning Commission
From: Jake Reilly, Community Development Director
Title
Consider Text Amendments Related to Industrial and Agricultural Use Regulations in Multiple Sections of Chapter 34 - Land Development Code.
Body
Action Requested:
Consider a motion to recommend the proposed text amendments to Industrial and Agricultural Use Regulations in the Land Development Code, specifically related to the I1-B: Industrial, A-S: Agricultural, and the ED-F: Economic Development Floating districts, to City Council.
Summary Report:
The City of Northfield has been planning for the development of the Northwest Area in addition to infill site redevelopment strategies consistent with the adopted Comprehensive Plan (2008) (Attachment 1) and the City’s Strategic Plan (Attachment 2) related to tax base growth for more than a decade. The 530 acres annexed in 2009 were brought into the city limits to address tax base mix and capacity concerns. However, due to economic conditions and other factors, development has been slow to occur. In order to attempt to capture renewed interest in real estate in the greater Northfield area and potentially spur development of the area into a contained industrial park - whether for a technology campus, a light industrial business park or other primarily industrial use focused on increasing the tax capacity within the city limits - staff and financial and planning advisors recommend rezoning the area to fit the Framework Map in the adopted 2008 Comprehensive Plan to industrial which describes the area as “District.”
Although delayed by COVID and other priorities, City staff have been working toward the recommended incremental approach to development in the area, memorialized in Resolution 2019-008 (Attachment 3). The approach has included working with Xcel Energy to market the site and participate in its “Certified Site” process, responding to requests for information from the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) in order to recruit new and complementary industries to the area.
The proposed industrial zoning ordinance amendments are in response to:
1) stated interest in refining land development code regulations to provide clarity to both staff and developers regarding design guidelines and standards;
2) the adoption of the Northwest Area Business Park Alternative Urban Areawide Review (2023) and related renewed interest from developers and site selectors; and
3) MN Session Law Chapter 63, which legalized adult-use cannabis and established a regulatory framework over the cannabis industry through the State of Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) is expected to begin licensing cannabis businesses in early 2025.
Background and Recent History
A joint committee comprised of members of the Council, Economic Development Authority, Housing and Redevelopment Authority, and Planning Commission was convened in response to concerns that development in the NW area was not occurring at a pace sufficient to address ongoing and chronic tax base mix and tax capacity concerns. Like many communities with multiple not-for-profit entities like colleges, universities, hospitals, and a robust park system, Northfield’s property tax capacity is primarily associated with residential property.
To date the primary development in the agricultural area has been commercial solar installations. While necessary - as an assist - to help achieve the Climate Action Plan goals which seek to achieve a carbon-free electricity goal by 2040 on a holistic and more global basis, unfortunately, solar installations within the City limits do not generate sufficient tax revenue to right the imbalance of property tax impact on residential property owners and to some extent preclude the construction of commercial/industrial buildings that would generate more property taxes than farmland or residential property does. The power generated by the solar installations is routed back to Xcel’s grid network and is not necessarily powering the electrical needs of Northfield’s residents, businesses and property owners. The grid connectivity of these commercial solar installations is both a benefit in terms of Xcel being able to state the use of renewable energy generation systems like solar array within its electrical grid, but there is also significant congestion in the grid which is limiting Northfield residents, business owners, and non-profit and government entities’ ability to install solar on buildings that is subsequently “net-metered” or routed through the grid after serving the power needs of the property.
Having appropriate land development code language for the types of users and uses that are desirable and can add significant value to the city’s tax capacity is more likely than not to influence site selectors and companies interested in investing in Minnesota and Northfield to look at the more than 300 acres of developable land favorably for their business decisions. There is also the potential that any residents who own land in the NW area would be able to command a higher price for their property at time of sale, as industrial land is valued at a higher per acre rate than agriculturally zoned land.
To that end, since 2022, City Staff have been working to develop appropriate guidance for the area, including costs and benefits to development, to serve the area with sewer and water, and to identify the best possible development that will meet multiple needs of the municipality, focusing however on tax base diversification.
To inform that work, in the fall of 2023, the Northfield City Council commissioned - with the help of Xcel Energy - and subsequently adopted an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) for an area of approximately 787 undeveloped acres (530 acres in the city limits and the remainder in Greenvale Township) northwest of downtown and west of the Northfield Hospital complex. The AUAR is a unique-to-Minnesota environmental review process intended to evaluate cumulative impacts under multiple development scenarios, including the existing scenario described in the 2008 Comprehensive Plan, and consider mitigation strategies. The two scenarios in the AUAR reflect that intent. Since adopting the AUAR, site selectors have been expressing more interest in the site and several landowners in the area are willing participants in that conversation. More information about the AUAR and the document itself are available on the City’s website (Attachment 3).
Existing industrial-use areas do not have particularly strong guidelines that are specific to industrial site development, design elements, consideration of sustainability concerns, or compatibility with surrounding uses. In an effort to focus recruitment efforts for potential new and/or expanded industrial uses citywide, and to ensure those recruitment efforts can be effective and can accurately reflect the current strategic and comprehensive goals of the city related to expanded/diversified tax capacity and tax base, climate change mitigation, resiliency, and economic success, staff has drafted updated definitions and criteria for industrial uses, including design and performance standards.
Additionally, the State Legislature passed laws in 2023 legalizing and establishing a process for the licensing of recreational adult-use cannabis. Those laws go into effect January 1, 2025, and the city has taken an incremental approach to drafting its land development code regulations to the use, sale, and production of recreational-use cannabis products. These code amendments address potential industrial, agricultural, and college use (as accessory) regulations only. Amendments regarding potential retail and commercial uses will be forthcoming.
NW Area Timeline
Northfield annexed approximately 530 acres in 2009 for commercial and industrial development just west of the Northfield Hospital; annexing additional land for commercial and industrial development was identified in the 2006 Comprehensive Economic Development Plan. To date, no development has occurred in this area except the installation of commercial solar farms, which require a conditional use permit.
Since being annexed, the land in the Northwest Area retains an agricultural zoning designation representing the existing use. However, based on guidance in the adopted 2008 Comprehensive Plan - under which the city continues to operate until the 2045-horizon Comprehensive Plan can be adopted; scheduled for December 2024 - the zoning is intended to be an interim zoning classification until such a time as rezoning the area to an industrial or mixed commercial-industrial use is advised. Some uses allowed in the agriculture zone other than crop raising and residences include commercial solar farms and community solar gardens, aggregate extraction/mining, and schools.
Updated zoning regulations for the City were adopted in 2011 and included a zoning classification intended for this area known as the Economic Development Floating Zone or ED-F special zoning district. Although a draft Master Plan for a business park in this area was prepared in 2011, it was not adopted. That draft Master Plan and the ED-F district both describe a mix of uses that appear to run counter to the intent of the 2006 Economic Development Plan and the 2008 Comprehensive Plan, both of which describe a stated desire to focus on infill sites close to the historic downtown core prior to developing or redeveloping in the identified priority growth areas. In 2011 a master planning process for the area was completed, although the plan was not adopted due to concerns that the mix of uses contemplated was too broad and therefore counter to the 2006 Comprehensive Plan direction to develop compactly and focus on the developed area closer to the downtown core first.
Other decisions made by the Planning Commission and City Council also reflect an interest in this area developing or redeveloping primarily for the purpose of diversifying the tax base mix in favor of light industrial and non-retail commercial enterprises that complement each other as well as the existing commercial-industrial environment in Northfield. For example, in 2018, the City Council established a committee comprised of members from the EDA, Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), Planning Commission and City Council. The committee’s charge was to provide a recommendation to City Council regarding a process to facilitate growth in the Northwest Area. After careful consideration of multiple approaches to planning for development in the area, including a master plan, the committee recommended an incremental approach to development in the area.
The memorandum accompanying the resolution identified several conclusions and recommendations, as well as future steps. Of note, and relevant to this memorandum are the following conclusions and recommendations from the 2019 resolution, specifically:
Conclusions:
• The 500 acres in the northwest area cannot be viewed in isolation from the overall economic development strategies employed by the city; 500 acres represents about 10% of the entire area of the City and must be integrated physically and economically into the community.
• Downtown is one of Northfield's most important assets; development should support and not draw business from downtown.
• Five hundred acres is more land than is needed for new growth within the foreseeable future. Since the 2011 Business Park Master Plan included the entire area, any proposed plan would need updated information, e.g. market feasibility; market absorption rates; fiscal analysis & return on investment for the City's estimated capital and maintenance costs for infrastructure including the expected timeline for breakeven on that investment.
• Staff and both appointed and elected decision makers should strive for vertical certainty and general agreement about development policy and process to reduce development uncertainty and risk.
Recommendations:
• Planning documents should be reviewed, analyzed, and updated.
• Consider further analysis of citywide land use and infrastructure to inform the planning process including official mapping of proposed road and infrastructure corridors.
• Create and adopt a Future Land Use map.
• Updating plans and policy should also reflect other City priorities such as climate action, equity, and transportation choice.
• Sustainability: The fiscal security of Northfield's future with respect to development opportunities and sustainability practices should be at the forefront of planning discussions. Northfield must evaluate the return on public investment for all projects including maintaining and replacing infrastructure improvements.
Since the 2008 Comprehensive Plan and land development/zoning regulations were updated, and the committee presented the above-referenced memorandum and path forward for the Northwest Area, including stating a request for a staff team to convene a conversation with St. Olaf College and Northfield Hospital staff regarding the potential to rezone the approximately 50-acres next to the hospital site, the City of Northfield adopted a Climate Action Plan (CAP) in 2019 (Attachment 4) which directs the City to, “integrate the Climate Action Plan into policy and plan updates including, but not limited to, the comprehensive plan, Land Development Code, complete streets policies, and others,” (PP7.1, p. 38).
Northfield has not yet adopted sufficient code language potentially applicable to this area that addresses elements of the CAP nor responds to conclusions and recommendations in the 2019 memorandum. Diversifying a municipalities’ tax base is one way to reduce the impact on one type of property owner, and in a community like Northfield with more than 30% of its market value consisting of tax-exempt property, the burden falls disproportionally on an individual homeowner.
Simply rezoning the areas to an appropriate commercial/industrial category is not sufficient to ensure future development meets goals related to carbon neutrality, nor the State of Minnesota’s similar goals. Nor is it sufficient to ensure that higher value natural resources such as fens, wetlands, old-growth forests, and other environmental resources are not compromised by development. Existing industrial-use areas do not have particularly strong guidelines that are specific to industrial site development, design elements, or consideration of sustainability concerns.
In the attached draft language, staff proposes a limited update to the existing I1-B: Industrial zone that considers the goals of the Climate Action Plan, changes in building materials and technology, energy efficiency and environmental and economic sustainability to provide guardrails that meet those stated and adopted planning goals and provide clear guidelines and standards for potential industrial users interested in building in Northfield, as well as changes in state law regarding recreational cannabis licensing, production, and use.
A more complete update would take place during the 2025-2026 Land Development Code process that would also take into consideration what land development/zoning regulations would be best drafted and implemented to facilitate development within Northfield that aligns with the Future Land Use map that will be adopted with the 2045 Comprehensive Plan. Related changes to the A-S Agriculture Special Use District, CD-S College District Special Use District, and the removal of the ED-F district are also proposed.
The guidelines and standards are designed to set expectations for developers and community members regarding what a future development might include or look like. While the standards are also designed to maximize an increase in tax capacity, preserve natural features, ensure sustainable outcomes related to power and water consumption, stormwater management, limit greenhouse gas emissions and ensure any public streets, trails or infrastructure are designed for connectivity to the rest of the municipality. They are also designed to ensure high-quality building design, sufficient and appropriate screening, and minimize any potential negative external impacts on neighboring property by establishing performance standards regarding light sound/noise vibrations, energy use, and water use.
Proposed code amendments are included in Attachments 5 and 6 for consideration. Attachment 5 shows both the struck language and the added language. Attachment 6 shows only the new language. In both documents changes are shown in red text.
Proposed amendments include new definitions and design standards for commercial and industrial uses related to cannabis, data processing facilities, renewable energy production, and other complementary industries to the anchor institutions of Northfield, along with performance standards for data processing and related facilities.
Responding to comments
During the year-plus-long process to address concerns regarding design and performance standards for industrial users in Northfield, staff has used information gathered for the 2023 AUAR as well as more informal conversations during the 2045-horizon Comprehensive Plan process along with evaluating other planning applications related to industrial buildings and uses and evaluating the different types of industrial users that are likely to have interest in locating in Northfield. Staff has also attended multiple sessions provided by the Urban Land Institute, League of Minnesota Cities, the American Planning Association, on emerging industrial technologies, including cannabis production and processing, renewable energy equipment production, emerging technologies in agriculture, and the recycling and rehabilitation of batteries and battery storage systems, both likely to be key components in climate change mitigation.
Staff has also shared and gathered information from other municipal and government agency staff who are similarly looking to ensure businesses and industrial users are good stewards of the environment and to recruit high-value businesses to their communities. Relying on others’ experiences to allow for city staff and decision-makers to learn from the approaches by others can help right-size a rational industrial land use approach for Northfield.
At the August 2024 Planning Commission meeting commissioners were asked to share information about concerns they might have with potential industrial or commercial uses likely to see the NW area as a prime location to develop. Some of those concerns - which were also shared by those providing comments during the public hearing process for the AUAR included:
• Noise, sound and vibrations;
• scale and massing of buildings,
• water use;
• amount of impervious surface;
• renewable energy;
• electronic waste;
• adherence to the city’s sustainable building policy;
• jobs and wages for those jobs;
• smells/odors;
• light;
• trucking and traffic;
• building façade and articulation;
• buffering;
• vegetation;
• wildlife corridors;
• effect on neighboring properties; and
• proximity to the Hospital and Benedictine Living facility.
At the October 10, 2024 meeting of the Planning Commission the discussion considered proposed amendments that would address:
• Definitions and standards related to:
o Accessory uses
o Bio-industrial uses
o Datacenter/server farm/cryptocurrency mining
o Cannabis cultivation
o Cannabis and hemp product manufacturing
o Limited production and processing
o Technology centers
o Renewable energy production and use
o Site development guidelines
§ Buffers/green space
§ Building façade elements
§ Building height
§ Fencing
§ Floor area ratio
§ Public and private roadways
§ Screening, landscaping, buffering
§ Security
§ Storage
• Performance Standards
o Ambient temperatures
o Electric and magnetic fields
o Electronic waste
o Energy use/carbon-neutrality
o Noise/Sound
o Vibration
o Water use/reuse
Staff also asked the Commissioners to consider two questions:
1. Are there additional concerns that do not appear to be addressed in the proposed definitions, performance standards, and/or design guidelines?
2. Consider what uses are identified as permitted, conditional or accessory. Are there questions or concerns regarding those distinctions between uses or if they are designated appropriately? (Allowing a use by right is less burdensome on both staff and the project proposer, however, a conditional use permit process may allow for additional or unknown concerns to be addressed during that process.)
Recognizing that the Commission did not feel it was adequately prepared for that discussion, the limited information that was gathered informed the subsequent iteration of the draft text amendments presented on October 30, 2024. On October 10, staff heard that the proposed performance standards were not adequate. Staff heard concerns about limiting solar installations in any district and staff heard concerns natural resource protection including wildlife, water resources and potential for electronic waste and effluent.
A revised draft of text amendments was presented at the October 30, 2024 meeting. The table below shows the differences between the October 10 and October 30 versions in bold text.
Table 1: Differences in draft text amendments: 10/10/2024 vs. 10/30/2024
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October 10, 2024 draft text amendments |
October 30, 2024 draft text amendments |
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Uses Added: § Cannabis/hemp Cultivation, Outdoor § Cannabis Retail § Hazardous waste treatment and storage, generated on site § Lower-potency hemp edible manufacturing § Manufacturing, processing, or packaging of products using raw materials § Cannabis/hemp Cultivation, Indoor § Cannabis Manufacturing § Cannabis Testing Facility § Data center/server farm § Research and Development Facilities |
Uses Added: § Cannabis/hemp Cultivation, Outdoor § Cannabis Retail § Hazardous waste treatment and storage, generated on site § Lower-potency hemp edible manufacturing § Manufacturing, processing, or packaging of products using raw materials § Cannabis/hemp Cultivation, Indoor § Cannabis Manufacturing § Cannabis Testing Facility § Data Processing Facility § Research and Development Facilities § Renewable energy technology production and processing § Commercial solar as a conditional use in an industrial district |
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Elements removed: § Commercial solar farms and community solar gardens as a conditional use. |
Elements removed: § The entire Economic Development Floating District (ED-F) |
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Definitions added/revised: § Cannabis Retail § Cannabis Microbusiness/mezzobusiness § Crop Raising § Wholesale or Commercial Plant Nurseries § Data center/server farm § Industrial uses (indoors) § Volatile solvent |
Definitions added/revised: § Cannabis Retail § Cannabis Microbusiness/mezzobusiness § Crop Raising § Wholesale or Commercial Plant Nurseries § Data center/server farm § Industrial uses (indoors) § Volatile solvent § Renewable Energy Technology Production and Processing |
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Use specific design guidelines for data center/server farm: (A) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to control data centers and/or server farms to minimize conflicts with adjacent land uses and to ensure the effect of any such enterprise is minimized. (B) Noise. Noise testing shall be required prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy in order to ensure compliance with the Noise Ordinance. (C) Exterior Lighting. Exterior lighting shall be designed and constructed with fully shielded fixtures that direct light downward and into the interior of the property and away from adjacent roads and adjacent properties. (D) Height. Buildings shall be a minimum of 20′ in height. (E) Design guidelines. Principal building facades that face adjacent public roads shall meet the following standards: a. Shall avoid the use of undifferentiated surfaces by including at least two (2) of the following design elements: i. Change in building height, building step-backs or recesses, fenestration, change in building material, pattern, or use of architectural accent materials. ii. 75% of each elevation facing a public roadway shall be brick, stone or accent material. Each elevation which faces a public roadway shall be consistent in terms of design, materials, details and treatment. iii. Chain link fence shall not be visible from the public roadways. All fencing along roadways shall be decorative with Director approval. iv. In order to minimize visibility from adjacent roads and adjacent properties, ground level and roof top mechanical equipment and loading areas shall be screened. Roof top screening shall be provided by principal building parapet. Ground level equipment shall be screened by a visually solid screen wall constructed of materials compatible with those used in exterior construction of the principal building. Mechanical equipment located in a manner found to have no adverse impact on adjacent roads and adjacent property, as determined by the Director shall not be required to be screened. v. No data center building shall be located within 100′ of a collector or local roadway. Site line studies shall be provided to confirm screening of equipment from adjacent roads and properties. vi. A 100′ heavy planted landscape buffer shall be required along public roadways and adjacent or abutting non-industrial uses. Use of natural topography and preservation of existing vegetation, supplemented by new vegetation, if needed, may be substituted for the above requirements when found by the City Planner to provide screening at the appropriate density, depth and height. Landscape shall be maintained for the life of the project. Photographic documentation shall be provided for City record prior to issuance of certificate of occupancy. |
Use specific design guidelines for data processing facility: (A) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to minimize conflicts with adjacent land uses and to ensure the effect of any such enterprise is minimized. Potential effects include, but are not necessarily limited to, very high energy usage, noise pollution, and the disposal of electronic waste. The high energy consumption of data processing operations runs counter to the City of Northfield and State of Minnesota objectives to reduce contributions to climate change. Equipment at these facilities has the potential to create noise pollution that negatively impacts nearby residents, businesses, and wildlife. In addition, electronic waste contains heavy metals and known carcinogens that have the potential to damage human health, and air and water quality if not handled correctly (B) Standards: (1) Noise. Noise testing shall be required prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy to ensure compliance with the Noise Ordinance. (2) Exterior Lighting. Exterior lighting shall be designed and constructed with cutoff and fully shielded fixtures that direct light downward and into the interior of the property and away from adjacent roads and adjacent properties. (3) Height. Buildings shall be a minimum of 30′ in height. The maximum height limitation if all setbacks are increased by one foot for each two feet of height in excess of 50 feet is 65 feet. (4) Linkages. Convenient functional linkages shall be achieved by providing vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian connections to promote the circulation and flow of vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians between the development and existing uses. (5) Electric grid connectivity and use. No grid-connected data processing system shall be installed until evidence has been provided by the operator that installation of the system has been approved by the electrical utility provider. Off-grid systems shall be exempt from this requirement. (6) Renewable energy. Off-grid systems are preferred. Facilities shall develop or purchase sufficient new renewable energy to offset 100% of the electricity consumed by the data processing operation and demonstrate that their actions will introduce new renewable energy onto the electrical grid beyond what would have been developed otherwise. (7) Site design. a. In addition to the standards in Sec. 3.2.5, principal buildings shall meet the following: 1. A minimum floor area ratio of .5. 2. A maximum single front elevation of 300 feet in length unless special architectural landscaping, or topographic treatment, such as a change of material, texture, depression, berm, or other similar change, is employed. b. Data processing facilities shall be located on land with a minimum acreage of 25 acres in size, at least 4,000 feet from an existing or planned park, trail, or other recreation feature, and the use shall be within a structure that is at least 200 feet from any residential dwelling. c. The use of cargo containers, railroad cars, semi-truck trailers and other similar storage containers for any component of the operation is strictly prohibited. d. All fencing along roadways shall be decorative. If security fencing is proposed, vegetative screening must be placed between the fence and the public view. Fencing must be made of high-quality materials and is subject to Planner approval. Chain-link and similar woven metal or plastic fencing shall not be used. e. To minimize visibility from adjacent roads and adjacent properties, ground level and roof top mechanical equipment and loading areas shall be screened. Roof top screening shall be provided by principal building parapet. Ground level equipment shall be screened by a visually solid screen wall constructed of materials compatible with those used in exterior construction of the principal building. Mechanical equipment located in a manner found to have no adverse impact on adjacent roads and adjacent property, as determined by the Planner shall not be required to be screened. f. No building housing data processing equipment shall be located within 60′ of a collector or local roadway. Site line studies shall be provided to confirm screening of equipment from adjacent roads and properties. g. A 40′ heavy planted landscape buffer shall be required along public roadways and adjacent or abutting non-industrial uses. Use of natural topography and preservation of existing vegetation, supplemented by new vegetation, if needed, may be substituted for the above requirements when found by the City Planner to provide screening at the appropriate density, depth and height. Landscape shall be maintained for the life of the project. Photographic documentation shall be provided for City record prior to issuance of certificate of occupancy. |
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Use specific performance standards for data center/server farm: a. Air Quality. Air emissions shall meet applicable state and federal regulations. Where emissions could be released as a result of accident or equipment malfunction, standard safeguards for safe operation of the industry involved shall be taken. b. Odors. Any use producing odors shall implement best available practices and use best available technology so that offensive or obnoxious odor shall not be perceptible to a person of normal sensitivity at or beyond the property line. c. Heat and Humidity. Any use or activity producing heat or humidity in the form of steam or moist air shall be carried on in such a manner that the heat or humidity is not perceptible at or beyond the property line. d. Glare. Any activity producing glare shall be carried on in such a manner that the glare is not perceptible at or beyond the property line. Artificial lighting shall be hooded or shaded so that direct light of high intensity lamps will not result in glare when viewed from public streets or neighboring properties. e. Vibrations. Every use shall be so operated that any air or ground vibration recurrently generated from equipment other than vehicles is not perceptible without instruments at any point on or beyond the property line. f. Hazardous Materials. The manufacture, use, processing or storage of hazardous materials shall be permitted in accordance with the regulations of the State Building Code, State Fire Code, the National Fire Protection Association standards, and any other state or nationally recognized standards that may apply to the particular use, building, or process. g. Industrial Wastes. The storage, processing, or disposal of dangerous waste shall be subject to the regulations of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. h. Electromagnetic Interference. Electric fields and magnetic fields shall not be created that adversely affect the public health, safety, and welfare, including but not limited to interference with the normal operation of equipment or instruments or normal radio, telephone, or television reception from off the premises where the activity is conducted. i. This section does not apply to telecommunication facilities which are regulated by the FCC under the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 or its successor. j. Noise. Noise emanating from a use or activity within an industrial zone which exceeds the maximum permissible noise levels set forth in this chapter shall not be permitted. Maximum Permissible Environmental Noise Levels from a Noise Source in an Industrial Zone: 70 dBA. At any hour of the day or night the applicable noise limitations may be exceeded for any receiving property by no more than: 1. 5 dBA for a total of 15 minutes in any 1-hour period 2. 10 dBA for a total of 5 minutes in any 1-hour period 3. 15 dBA for a total of 1.5 minutes in any 1-hour period *Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the noise limitations shall be reduced by 10 dBA for receiving property in residential zones. |
Use specific performance standards for data center/server farm: (C) Performance Standards. These standards are intended to mitigate potential detrimental effects on adjacent properties. All applications for site plan approval must be accompanied by a registered engineer's certification that the use complies with all the performance standards. If, after occupancy of the structures, continuous or frequent (even if intermittent) violations of the performance standards occur, and after notice is given, bona fide and immediate corrective work is not performed which successfully prevents the violation(s) from reoccurring, the Planner or Building Official may suspend or revoke the Certificate of Occupancy and require the operations and occupancy to immediately cease. The Certificate of Occupancy will be reinstated after the property owner demonstrates to the City’s satisfaction, that operation of the facilities is able to conform to these requirements. a. Air Quality. Air emissions shall meet applicable state and federal regulations. Where emissions could be released as a result of accident or equipment malfunction, standard safeguards for safe operation of the industry involved shall be taken and documented. b. Odors. Any use producing odors shall implement best available practices and use best available technology so that offensive or obnoxious odor shall not be perceptible to a person of normal sensitivity at or beyond the property line. c. Heat and Humidity. 1. Any use or activity producing heat or humidity in the form of steam or moist air shall be carried on in such a manner that the heat or humidity is not perceptible at or beyond the property line. 2. Any data processing operation shall ensure that no more than 20 % of the heat dissipated by the activity shall be released directly to the outside when the average daily temperature is less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit. d. Energy use. Any data processing operation shall document and certify a power usage effectiveness ratio (PUE) of not more than 1.25 at start-up. e. Water use. Any data processing operation shall document a water usage effectiveness ratio upon start-up. 1. Data processing centers using free cooling, direct liquid, rack, or room cooling technologies may be permitted without a conditional use permit. 2. A conditional use permit is required for data processing centers proposing to use water for cooling. Water use must meet at least two (2) of the following conditions: a. Recycled and non-potable water makes up at least 60% of water withdrawals. b. The data processing operation shall be operated at or near the ASHRAE-recommended upper limit for temperature. c. The data processing operation shall ensure the humidity control system is optimized, and the data center is running at the low end of the ASHRAE-recommended guidelines for humidity (5.5°C dew point). d. Demonstrate and document implementation of all appropriate best practice airflow management strategies to improve cooling efficiency. f. Glare. Any activity producing glare shall be carried on in such a manner that the glare is not perceptible at or beyond the property line. Artificial lighting shall be hooded or shaded so that direct light of high intensity lamps will not result in glare when viewed from public streets or neighboring properties. g. Vibrations. Every use shall be so operated that any air or ground vibration recurrently generated from equipment other than vehicles is not perceptible without instruments at any point on or beyond the property line; nor may any vibration produce a particle velocity of 2 inches per second measured at or beyond the property line. This provision does not apply between adjoining data processing facilities. h. Hazardous Materials. The manufacture, use, processing or storage of hazardous materials shall be permitted in accordance with the regulations of the State Building Code, State Fire Code, the National Fire Protection Association standards, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Pollution Control Agency, Department of Health, and/or any other state or nationally recognized standards that may apply to the particular use, building, or process. i. Industrial and Electronic Wastes. The storage, processing, or disposal of potentially hazardous waste, including electronic waste, shall be subject to the regulations of State Building Code, State Fire Code, the National Fire Protection Association standards, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Pollution Control Agency, Department of Health, and/or any other state or nationally recognized standards that may apply to the particular use, building, or process. Verification that all hazardous and electronic waste will be handled by a qualified electronic waste recycling firm is required. j. Electromagnetic Interference. Electric fields and magnetic fields shall not be created that adversely affect the public health, safety, and welfare, including but not limited to interference with the normal operation of equipment or instruments or normal radio, telephone, or television reception from off the premises where the activity is conducted. 1. This section does not apply to telecommunication facilities which are regulated by the FCC under the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 or its successor. k. Noise. Noise emanating from a use or activity within an industrial zone which exceeds the maximum permissible noise levels set forth in this chapter and shown in Table 3.3-3: Maximum Decibels by District shall not be permitted. |
Staff has subsequently had multiple conversations with renewable energy experts and conferred with staff in the City Administrator’s office charged with climate change mitigation and sustainability initiatives regarding the best approach to ensuring adequate locations for large-scale commercial solar projects to be sited while also fulfilling the city’s goal to expand and diversify the tax base and the property owners’ in the NW Area’s goals associated with business and personal financial stability and satisfaction.
The version of the amendments included in this packet addresses concerns about building massing and height, floor area ratio, and building articulation. Those changes include a revision to the renewable energy performance standard to encourage off-grid systems based on current best practices as defined by MN-based renewable energy experts and addresses improvements to solar standards to encourage solar installation development in a way that preserves any remaining area for other development types. This addition could return Commercial Solar installations back as conditional uses in the Agricultural Services District.
For data processing facilities:
Renewable energy. Facilities should develop or purchase sufficient new renewable energy to offset as close to 100% of the electricity consumed as possible. Facilities that demonstrate a commitment to onsite renewable electricity generation or other means to increase local renewable energy are preferred.
For solar installations:
Efficient Siting. Commercial solar farms and community solar gardens shall be sited and constructed to maximize the productivity and contiguous acreage of the remaining land not used in the project, by siting the project as close to the utility connection as practicable and minimizing areas of land that are non-contiguous.
A revised redlined version of the text amendments that include the above language is attached.
Alternative Options:
• Apply the existing I1-B: Industrial designation in the land development code.
• Apply the existing ED-F Economic Development Floating zone designation in the land development code.
• The Commission is not required to make a recommendation to the Council. The Council and Administration have directed staff to bring text and map amendments to the City Council on November 26, 2024.
Financial Impacts:
At this time this is a staff-driven effort and therefore no additional funds are anticipated to be spent on evaluating or writing code language. However, there are long-term financial impacts associated with industrial uses, both positive and negative.
Tentative Timelines:
February 15, 2024: Planning Commission initiates discussions related to orderly growth and development for economic vitality in the NW area
April 22, 2024: Economic Development Authority considers similar issues
May 16, 2024: Planning Commission revises interim ordinance; requests Council response
June 24, 2024: EDA passes resolution supporting staff and Planning Commission interim ordinance recommendation
July 9, 2024: Council considers interim ordinance recommendation
August 5, 2024: Interim ordinance in effect
August 15, 2024: Planning Commission asked to provide guidance on performance standards and design guidelines for industrial users
October 10, 2024: Draft language to Planning Commission and Council
October 30, 2024: Public hearing on zoning map amendment for Northwest Area properties
November 21, 2024: Planning commission public hearing and potential recommendation on text and/or map amendments and continuation of public hearing on zoning map amendment for Northwest Area properties
November 26, 2024: Council decision on text and/or map amendments
Q1 2025: New industrial use regulations in place.
Q2 2025: Land Development Code update process begins