After twice being rescheduled following protests earlier this week, the Hermantown City Council unanimously approved several key agreements late Friday night for a controversial proposed Google data center in northeast Minnesota despite vehement local opposition. The votes took place following four hours of public comment and about an hour of discussion. The meeting wrapped up just before midnight.
The council approved a development agreement for the 1.7 million-square-foot project, which is slated to be built on more than 200 acres in a rural residential area of Hermantown just outside Duluth. Other approvals included a special use permit and a plan to decommission the site in the event the data center isn’t completed or abandoned.
The council was initially set to vote on the data center Monday night. But that meeting was canceled following two consecutive hours of chanting and protests outside the council chambers. The meeting was initially rescheduled for Tuesday night, but then rescheduled again for Friday. The city restricted attendance to 85 people.
That angered project opponents, including the grassroots group Stop the Hermantown Data Center, which has repeatedly asked the city to move meetings to a larger venue to accommodate larger crowds. Most people in attendance spoke against the proposal, although supporters also addressed the council. Hermantown resident Eric Palmer said a highlight of the deal is the $210 million decommissioning agreement, which he said protects the city if the project is scrapped. Google made other concessions in the weeks leading up to the votes. It agreed to drop a request for up to $80 million in property tax breaks. The project now will provide an estimated $3 million annually in property tax revenue to Hermantown.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing