What is happening in Farmington?

These two videos clearly tell the story and show what the Coalition is up against.

Please watch in succession. They are full of information and provide a clear timeline and picture of the issues involved.

On May 1 of 2024, a few Farmington residents received notice of a May 14th Public Hearing and Planning Commission vote to rezone land that sits next to their homes. The intended land was Fountain Valley Golf Course and land just south of the golf course owned by ISD 192, a combined 348 acres.

Both parcels had been annexed to Farmington by Castle Rock Township. In the Orderly Annexation Agreement, the city of Farmington agreed that any industrial or commercial use of the property would require consent from the Township.

The residents were not aware that Tract Management, a data center developer from Colorado, had been working with the city for months to put the plans in place for the purchase of the land parcels, the rezoning of the property, along with the details of the project. This would be the largest hyperscale data center built in Minnesota to date. The project would consist of 12 buildings, up to 80 feet tall, 708 MW, 2.53 million square feet, an electrical substation, and several hundred generators with over a million gallons of stored fuel.

Throughout the summer of 2024, the city of Farmington went forward, working with Tract Management on the AUAR, PUD and plat, and approving all of the decisions necessary for the project, including the plan to amend the Comprehensive Plan to accommodate this new zoning.

The City of Farmington’s agreement with Castle Rock Township within the Orderly Annexation Agreement was ignored.

The Coalition representatives filed legal action against the city in November of 2024.

On January 14, 2025, the Castle Rock Township board voted unanimously to file legal action against the city of Farmington for breach of the Orderly Annexation Agreement. Their legal filing is pending.

On January 16, 2025, Sen Bill Lieske and Rep Drew Roach released their draft of a bill to be presented the following week to the Minnesota State Senate, designed to regulate the zoning of hyperscale data centers., You can see the Senate Bill HERE.