##VIDEO ID:ufIDCqpcADU## [Music] [Music] [Music] oh we'll call the city council regular meeting to order for Monday November 18th 2024 would everyone please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I plg to the FL of the United States of America and to the repblic for it stands one nation indivisible withy andice for all call the RO please council member bur Jim here council member Bernat here council member lean here council member Wilson here mayor Hoy here all right uh any changes to the agenda Le Nick Steve mayor the only question I have is would it make sense to move Kelly's Kelly's item under new business ahead of 10 or do we want to keep it in order so in other words yeah move that before 10 Leah but if we can't do the type of okay is there any rebuttals or any objections to moving okay any other changes to the agenda then all right seeing none I would seek a motion to approve the agenda moving item number 12 item number 12 in new business uh to precede item number 10 y motion to approve amended second motion by Holly second by Steve on favor say I I all right we'll move on then to no nothing under five item six is our citizen comments if there's anyone in attendance wishing to speak feel free to come up here at this time and then just to mention that there is a public hearing which we have now moved but uh if there's any comments as it pertains pertains to that public hearing I would ask that they happen during that public hearing just for um those watching at home if they ever want to look at them at a later time this would be for items not on the agenda all right so just to clarify the public hearing is on the data center no the public hearing is on the vacation of a utility easement okay so if there's if there's any comments to be made on that item specific I would ask that they're held until that public hearing yeah it's just for a matter of recordkeeping more than anything okay well I have one thing well I have a couple things but after a year and a half aen Road Project looks to be done last week mmana was out to remove the the rest of the silt fence they dumped more dirt uh down the drop off on the Walking path across from me Place straw down expecting grass to grow next year good luck with that it's just thrown down there and another roll of the uh plastic mesh stuff is just rolled out you're not going to get grass to grow there um also the sale that they made for the water runoff still has trees laying in it that they knocked over to make it what a half-ass job you let go by now new issue can anyone on the on the council tell me how many public hearings you have had and I'm talking public hearings that you took public comment on for the data center the data building how many public hearings which means public hearings means you've taken public comment anyone number how many public hearings have you had Steve weall any public hearings that you had I I believe on that topic we've had zero but the Planning Commission has had a few watching the last city council meeting people were up here afraid of talking about something that's on the agenda agenda because it as you just stated Mr Mayor that anything that's not on the agenda that's what citizen comment is for is anything that's not on the agenda people stand up here thinking okay it's on the agenda I'll have a chance to speak apparently nobody's had a chance to speak on any of this at any given time so my my qu my next question is will you take public comment tonight before voting on the final plat of the DB Center it's standard practice that the city council does not engage with residents CI com from the taxpayers of this city on a final plat you've already CH changed the comp plan which probably should have had a public hearing on that all three of the things that you did last at the last meeting should have had a public hearing you might want to check with the operation of how you guys are running this because I think the leg cities would find that you know just as you did the road project that you're doing things out of order you're putting the city in Jeopardy of litigation in many different ways not having public comment not having the taxpayers be able to have their say in something that we're we're potentially paying for or is going to impact the city so again will you take public comment on on this agenda item because it's not on the it it's on the agenda will you take public comment on it the city council takes public comment for items not on the agenda are you going to take comment on it then because it's on the agenda you have five minutes for your citizens comment Mr Wilson will you make a motion to the council to take public comment on this agenda item of the data center we got be able to have our say you you this has gone Ram roaded right down the last time I was here you're talking about Ai and that was in May tonight you're doing the final plat approving the final plat of something that I've got so many things on here that you're just not following public comment number one number two litigation I have a doc doent here from and I was on the city council when when we did this orderly annexation agreement between Cal Rock we worked our butts off back in my four years to make good uh collaborate with the the townships Empire in Castle Rock to have these orderly annexations and in this orderly annexation it says that you cannot have that kind of use on that land and I've talked with people in cck and they're getting lawyers together so you're going to put the city in litigation over this and why should the city have to pay for you guys to have us in litigation when you have a contract that says not supposed to be there a contract is a contract if somebody comes to your house and is going to do work and you're going to sign a contract do you expect that contract to be followed yes not for just a certain amount of time neither not when you have public entities working together and you're willing to just throw that away the other thing is you're you're willing to throw the her one of the heritage of the Farmington away the way that they're going to suck water out of the aquifers this city is known for the rilon river which is what a trout stream suck all the water out of the aquifers and where is that going to leave us you're throwing the city down the damn drain you ought to look at how you're doing this and do it a whole lot better because your processes are just absolutely wrong H you want to say you won't you don't want this in your backyard but when I watch that meeting a couple times when I heard that came out of my mouth was she don't care about throwing in somebody else's backyard let's black back the training up a little bit are you going to take public comment on this thing it's on the agenda it's plain and simple if you you know you can say no but I'll stand up right when when this agenda item comes up and we'll talk about it because by rights I think that's that's what's owed to me as a taxpayer that's what's ow to anybody else in here in the city of Farmington we're taxpayers we deserve that will you take public comment it's a yes or no answer public comment is for non-agenda items no public comment is for agenda items this is citizen comments is is for stuff that's not on the agenda but because it hasn't been taken a public comment hasn't been taken for the last four five six months on this data center I'm asking for it to be taken tonight public comment on what you should have done uh three public hearings at the last meeting all three of those items that you did potentially should have been a public uh hearing you should have opened it up the public comment went them if we dig into that a little farther maybe the legue of Minnesota City's wants to answer that again you'd be putting the city in legal in il legality again litigation again because of the way that you run things those all probably should have been Public public hearings and all three of those should have been talked about at the last meeting but you got people up here oh we we can't talk about that they're they're they're saying stuff but we can't talk about that that's the way you want your residents to feel because they're waiting for it to come up on the agenda thinking okay I won't bring it up here at citizen comments I'll wait till it comes up on the agenda but there was no opportunity and that's what you clearly are stating by saying citizen comments are for things that are not on the agenda comments are also reserved to five minutes I've extended you a little bit of a courtesy to extend your comments as we have in previous meetings with you if our City attorney would like to provide clarity as to why certain agenda items uh by Statute require a public hearing and that public hearing is held in the Planning Commission during the normal process then she can weigh in at this time for that yeah we can have that discussion uh when we have the agenda item come up is fine by me but there were multiple public hearings at the Planning Commission which satisfy those legal obligations so thank you okay that was at the at the Planning Commission but when I was on the council when we changed the uh comp plan we had several public hearings when when stuff comes up like this whether it be the comp plan whether it be developments or what it has been the the council has and the mayor has the discretion at his will to take com comment on something like this and to have public hearings and open it up to the taxpayers Mr Wilson we make a motion to table this uh issue until we we find out whether those should have been public comments or not make a motion the table is so that we can find out if we can get on the agenda and have people do public comment will you make that motion I'll give you my five minutes Dave as someone who has served previously you understand the rules of decorum and you have the right to do whatever you want you have the expression to say yes we will take public comment you're right I know exactly how it works but I also feel that when I was up on the council the taxpayer had some goddamn say and and I think the taxpayers ought to have their say right now and I don't want the city to lose a veril we we fought for years for ver million River because of the TRU what we did out Vermillion River Crossing when we had to go through trying to make that commercial thing we had so much things that uh the city plan was working on the buildings out there we had to have fake facades on those buildings to make them just look so so here you're willing to throw 80 foot buildings in the city and make the thing look like crap you either table it or you say yes to Public's comment tonight simple as that and you have the discretion if you want your the the people that you represent the taxpayers you want to give them their say this is your opportunity to step up Dave your time has expired don't make me get back up here when that when item comes up on the agenda if I will is there anyone else wishing to speak on non agenda items I'm Jeff shler I live at 22420 Calico Court um thanks for letting me speak tonight Holly Nick ktie Steve thank you for coming over and taking a look at my house and seeing things from my perspective so what I've been asking for it whether it changed any of you years it changed my view of you guys being willing to look and listen and talk to me a little bit was a good conversation it was a play you all more than nice um I appreciate that a ton my family does too it meant a lot whether it changes the outcome or not it meant a lot to us and it showed to them and it showed to them that I'm doing what I can to make it right for them I'm trying every angle I'm pursuing every Avenue Josh I understand I know why you didn't respond me I know why you didn't come over I get it I've pushed the limits on what's acceptable I guess especially on a public platform I've challenged you on multiple levels I get it I understand that I apologize do a little better I don't love what's going on that's obvious that's why I'm emotional I'm shaking over it that's why I had my little Outburst I get it was unprofessional I appreciate you not pushing the envelope and doing something about me swearing in public or whatever you want to say you know um this is all all of our towns it's your town it's our town it's my town it's everybody's town it's all of our town we set the rules in our town that'll work for all of our residents not just a few some company does set the rules in this town we set the rules you know that track called me tonight after I met with everybody I sent them the email that I sent to you guys and then she called me I don't know if it was based off of your comment to her or if it was off that email she offered 100 foot buffers for my house and two others there's a lot more people on that property I I appreciate because I've Maybe been the loudest and crazy caused the most crap that they're giving me a little attention but it ain't just about me this is two communities they're all neighbors track promises to be a good neighbor they claim to be good neighbors this is the first clear sign that attracts two intention to not being a good neighbor by only caring about three people um the things that they've offered have essentially been faux Windows buffers at not costing them anything it's not changing anything it's not really impacting anything we were all out there today yesterday saw those trees those trees are dead whatever they're going to plant it's not going to offer nothing for 10 years this is Minnesota we've got four or five months A Year Without leaves anything someone travels pretty good in the winter track also said that 250 foot setbacks are non-negotiable track said that 250t setbacks are non-negotiable why is track deciding what's negotiable in our town why does she have the right to say what's negotiable why do they have that right in our town in your town you guys get to set the bar and set the precedent for what happens in our town not some developer you set a you've set an example you're willing to work you're willing to look at you're willing to put the money and the time and the effort into letting this happen set some real standards and guidelines if they don't like it they'll leave somebody else will come the whole world the whole data center world's watching you guys they're listening they're waiting for them to walk for you to put a good set of buffers and regulations on to respect the residents you'd have an offer by the end of the month if they walked out the door today but it could be on your terms not theirs don't let some company that's not from Farmington there's 300 years of residence 400 years of residence in this room probably along with you guys we know what works in this town and what belongs in this town and how to treat its residents and where to put things they don't they're not from here um we're real people with real Homes real families real children uh I I I can't bring my daughter in here I couldn't even bring my daughter out when you guys were there today when I talk about this and I look at her I get choked up I see red I don't act right um we've built and bought these homes and put our Blood Sweat and Tears into them we've done this to create a safe and honorable place to raise our families please put the proper restrictions in place to help protect our families and preserve some sense of our and pride we know we're not going to get everything something's got to go there do it right so that we're still proud of our homes so that none of us feel the need to leave there so it's not so impactful that we worry about the things we don't know make it right and if they don't like it somebody will the land will sell it doesn't have to be the first one they just learn to play baseball and they're shooting for home runs on every swing they're not even waiting for their pitch they're coming in shooting for home runs and setting demands we're not negotiable we are are negotiable it's Farmington it's your rules not theirs War you please be a beacon of light for the entire community stand up the track have the courage amend the Pud do it right you know what's right you know what's acceptable you know what we've been asking for I told each one of you what I'm asking for the distances they showed you with markers what's out there I got to believe it's as obvious to every one of you as it was to everybody else that that's too close um just too close I ask if you vote tonight vote with a clear conscious with each and every resident in mind not just some but all of them we're all here we're all residents we got hundreds of years of residency here we're all neighbors and we're all a community that's all I got thank you for your time I appreciate it I appreciate all you guys giv me the time thank you I'm mayor in Council Nate Ryan live here in Farmington um so what I'd like to talk about tonight is just really kind of three simple things the first one being the what Dave was talking about and just kind of the wrong process this is going um very very first Planning Commission meeting and got up here and spoke it was a public meeting talked and really talked about the process and how it was wrong the the Planning Commission at that time decided to table that they said let's wait a second let's just table that um and from every point there there has never been a back and forth you're going to see track come up here tonight and you're going to allow them to have a back and forth with you just like Dave tried to do and the mayor is up there and he's quoting policy it's the policy of the council policy is not law I sent that to you all in an email policy is not law there is no law that says that we can't have a back and forth with you there's no law that says that it's you providing that as a policy Mr Mayor it's you and it's your choice with great power becomes great responsibility right that's the Superman or not I'm sorry the Spider-Man quote right that's the thing and you have great power you should have great responsibility as well and you're going about this the wrong way as Dave mentioned litigation that has been what I've been talking about every single time that I've been up here you're opening yourselves up to litigation like Dave I've had an opportunity to serve on a city council on a plan commission and the one thing that the league of Minnesota City's beat into my head from the very first moment the very first time that I went to one of their meetings is follow the guidelines and you won't get sued watch out for litigation mistakes watch out for hey you're doing things the wrong way especially Planning and Zoning I had the unfortunate opportunity to be involved in two Federal lawsuits I got to be sequestered in a in a Magistrate's chamber for I don't know 36 hours 72 hours it was wonderful it's the best time of my life but the reason that we were there and the reason that we were there is because we were following policy we were doing things the right way and doing things the right way still can end you up in trouble right still can end you up in litigation you're doing things the wrong way and you're going to get litigated against this is this is going to cost you more in the initial year just in your insurance payments with the league of Minnesota cities your cap is $4 million I explain that to you I explained that to you on a sidewalk the very first time that we met Mr Mayor you have these policies you have these Insurance in places once you get past that $4 million Mark you're going to have to bond to your own citizens to fight or to litigate your own citizens that is crazy that is absolutely absurd and the Reason Not only that that's just that's just the zoning side the First Amendment side of things allowing none of us to speak or have it back and forth like you did with track and like you have done with track time and time again they're going to get up here as an applicant the landowner is not even with them Bryce has attended one meeting Carol's I don't think Carol's been to any meetings the landowner the person who actually owns the land who has the most valuable asset they they're not even here and you're listening to someone who doesn't even own land you're listening to someone who hasn't doesn't even pay a scent in taxes and you're letting them choose so again so first litigation listening to people policy understand that this is a policy you should have a back and forth it should be what you want you should be able to have that conversation Mr Mayor that you and I had out in the parking lot you should be able to have that with your citizens here in an open setting in an open Forum but for some reason you're afraid to and if it's her and not pointing at the City attorney telling you not to what the hell are you doing why are you listening to her listen to us listen to the citizens you're afraid to get litigated here because she's telling you something listen to us but you're allowing her to say oh let let track come up and talk have a back and forth with them but don't do it with your citizens the ones who you absolutely owe it to that is not serving with honor I'm speaking directly to you Mr Mayor because you understand what the word honor means and you are not serving With Honor one of the worst things that you could ever happen on a DD214 is a dishonorable discharge and I thought that after our meeting when we talked I really had a different opinion of you and then today and then watching what's happening with this final plat how these things are moving ahead so quickly they sat there and lied to you and said we don't have an end user if you don't have an end user why the hell are you moving this fast they are playing you guys they are absolutely playing you and you you just don't even see it you don't even understand the impacts of what you did by rezoning this property we could have five hotels they could decide you know what screw the city of Farmington to heck with you guys I don't want to be here they could put in a trucking facility there now because you change it to mix use commercial industrial anything that's in approved use you can do they can now put in there now you did that all of you Katie wouldn't even look at us I went back and watch the meeting you know how many times you made eye contact with the entire crowd four four she wouldn't even look at us can you call that serving With Honor I know what I serve with honor I can look at people I can look at their eyeballs and I can tell them and say hey this may not feel the best this may not feel the right but let me explain why these things are right the only reason that any of you have ever given why this feels right is tax revenue how much tax revenue is enough you're already getting the bangal project and if this thing got scaled back to six buildings instead of 12 what would that tax revenue look like honestly like what like what would that tax revenue look like oh it's it's only one and a half million it's not three oh crap only get one and a half million when I spoke in front of the Met Council I said this I'm going to I've got one more thing I'm going to say this I'm gonna say one more thing after this but I've got this for you tra is a billion doll company you're hoping to make a few million off of the backs of people who make a few thousand think about that they're a billion dollar company you're going to help them make another billion dollars they do not give a about you they do not give certainly a about anyone in this room they do not care all they want is the land so they can make billions of dollars I will never spend a billion dollars in my entire lifetime neither will you maybe as you go throughout your career as a counselor and if you aspire to other higher government positions you you may end up spending a billion but won't be your money it' be taxpayers dollars not spending your money you're paying spend our money just think about that of people make a few th000 bucks a year you're going to enrich a billion dollar company for another billion the last thing that I'll say is I would I had a call from Kristen Dean because I asked her to call me earlier tonight as well and we were talking about you know she's like what's your address I gave her my address and she goes you're 1100 ft away you're not even going to be impacted at all if she knows that she knows that distance so well so quick so 1100 feet you're not going to be impacted then why the hell can any of you choose to make these setbacks further if I'm not going to be impacted in their eyes at 1100 feet it's going to be totally honky Dory totally okay why not make those setbacks why not break them down to six buildings why not settle for 1.5 million in tax revenue it's 1.5 million that we didn't have before is that a three Nick talked about you know well this isn't spot zoning I sent you an email Nick never replied to me I'm very curious what your legal opinion is about spot zoning you quoted it and you said it at the city council meeting last time what's your legal opinion why do you think this is not spots zoning don't look to the attorney to see if you should answer because she's going to say no don't answer that question please Nick don't answer that question but seriously I'll leave you with that last question the last thing I ask you if we can have any sort of back and forth what is your legal position on spot why do you think this is not spot tell us all tell the recording tell us all don't let her not let you answer thank you anyone else wishing to speak at this time I'm Kathy Johnson and I live at 22280 bearing Avenue thanks for those of you who went to shers today to look at just how close 250 fet as to get a visual of it and I know that I was there earlier in the week and it's Preposterous what is being proposed but the thing that's really sad is that it's even on your shoulders because here's what's happened 10 years ago the state of Minnesota gave tax incentives for data centers to come in with tax forgiveness and at that time tax data centers were a whole lot smaller than they are now there was there's no regulation on them because 10 years ago they probably didn't think that was necessary but unfortunately that's still true today and data centers are not the same animal that they were 10 years ago this project doesn't belong in muci by any stretch of the imagination it is not mixed use it's single use and anytime it's 760 megawatts that makes it the biggest electric uh user in the state and my husband did some research it is the seventh largest DC campus when measured by electrical um requirements in the world and that is going in the middle of residential 250 ft from somebody's house and I agree Jeff I mean that to say we'll give you an extra 100 is ridiculous 80 ft tall today I was in a conversation with somebody who lives not that far from The Event Center that's in C and that's actually Empire on Highway 50 he would be able to see the top of those 80t tall buildings 2 miles away this is incompatible with the existing use residents are being asked to sacrifice our property value our standard of living and I really liked Nate's comment why do you have to have this much data centers if it was smaller I mean I really wish it wasn't a data center but if it was there and it was much smaller it would probably have a much smaller impact but it's really sad that it's on your shoulders it's really sad the state isn't stepping in and saying you know what data centers aren't the same as they were 10 years ago when we made the regulations here and we need to revisit that because what's happening shouldn't be on your shoulders you shouldn't have to Grapple with this and be and you shouldn't be put in a situation where you're being played by track yes you are being played by track they care more about their bottom line than they do the citizenry why else is that 250 ft absolutely not negotiable that's absurd it needs to be at least 500 feet back with at least a 200t buffer before that the fact that you would think nothing of putting this into our yards in our backyards doesn't speak well for how you feel about Farmington citizens families I mean I'm Castle Rock but I've lived here for 45 years we basically built our house and planted every tree and blade of grass on it and now all of the sudden at the whim of track developments a Colorado company a Colorado company is coming in and telling Minnesota cities and the state of Minnesota how to allocate the resources our water our electricity how to how they want and how they Vision the change in the um standard of living and the quality of life for our citizens this is our town the heck with track the heck with them they really don't care about us and I agree with Nate I think they're definitely playing you we need do we do need State regulation but but the best thing that you can do in the meantime is to table this and take a look realistically like those of you who looked at Jeff's place today what is going to happen to to the families that live over there and what's going to happen to the families that live on the east side of bearing Avenue or on 225th we're not sacrificial Lambs that data center doesn't belong in this location and certainly not at that scale thank [Applause] you hello my name is Steve ched I live in uh 1 19750 Excel Court in Farmington and I'm a licensed instruction engineer in 10 States including Minnesota and could you speak close your mic I will thank you I'm a licensed structal engineer in 10 States including Minnesota and I'm personally working on a data center right this second in a different state and I can say anecdotally that that I would never want this abomination in my town it is literally a machine that never stops never it's never quiet it requires constant power constant cooling constant lighting constant security is equivalent to a massive power plant in your city except it's going to draw the power from your city instead of provide it I don't really have any additional comments other than just to say that I'm as I mentioned I'm literally working on one of these today at my desk I was working on the engineering for this exact kind of facility in a different state and I wouldn't want this in my town ever thank you thank you anyone else wishing to speak yep my name is Terry Pearson 2475 225th Street West 50 feet 4050 feet off the line with the golf course and what I want to try and impress upon you is you have wasted wasted money you did the survey to find out what wonderful things that Farmington needed and what the people appreciated and all of that you also did that uh I think it was $25,000 commercial on Farmington and what I can tell you is with these people that live right around between those two residential areas that we have found our community we have found Farmington we trust each other we have you know cared for the school district all of those kinds of things over the years and you needn't look any further than these two these two residential areas and and I can only hope that the rest of Farmington is replicating that thank you thank you [Applause] my name is Gary Johnson 22280 baring Avenue Farmington um I would like to thank you for your time and letting me get up here and speak I'd also like to apologize ahead of time because when I get excited and passionate sometimes my voice is R Rises doesn't mean I'm yelling um I'm going to expound on several things that my my wife said maybe add a little bit I wrote a letter to all of you on November 3rd before you took your vote on the resoning two items I addressed one is the size of this monster 760 megawatt of power is more than monacell nuclear power reactor generates Prairie Island's two nuclear reactors will generate a little over 200 megawatts more power than this will take this will be the seventh largest data center area some of these are considered areas and this is just one Center in the world as of a article on January 1st of this year so it's a monster it is no longer what the state off offer tax incentives to bring into the state to try to help or get involved in it it has grown proportionately larger and the state needs to take action the other thing I commented on was some history of planning in this community many many years ago I forget exactly how it was probably 10 15 20 years ago there were many comments in the paper about developers coming in and proposing uh new housing developments and people were starting to comment saying the developers are telling the city what to do rather than the city telling the developers what we would like to see the city stated after that that they would make some changes now when I see this process go through I don't see where any changes were made um the Planning Commission had their first meeting in May at that meeting the chairman of the Planning Commission commission stated that this was brand new to him several months later he made the statement that it had been around for about a year and a half well in that year and a half time how many citizens were informed how many people were given the opportunity to talk it wasn't until notices went out to people 350 ft away from the property line that anybody knew this was going on thank God for somebody raising red flags and people going out and door knocking to announce a public meeting we filled this room when the chairman saw that he was floored they proceeded with their meeting people got up here and spoke not one person raised any positive comments on the data center not one conclusion of that meeting they were afraid to take a vote I really think they were planning on taking a vote that meeting but they were afraid to take their vote they decided to put it off first it was one month and then it was two or three months so I don't know how long it took you and track to decide what you wanted to say or how you wanted to respin it but the meeting was finally held again it was a full house not one person stood at this location and raised a positive comment everything was negative they closed the meeting took a unanimous vote now the rest has been on you and you weren't slowing anything down you're moving just as fast as they were why why you don't the city of farm engan does not have the knowledge of how to deal with a massive structure like this this is a hyperscale database Center bigger than nuclear power plants what do you know about that you should not be making these decisions I ask you tonight to stop this vote no and join our citizens group to go to the state and ask the state to put a moratorium on all database Construction in this state until they can con join some kind of a task force with knowledgeable people from all the different aspects of influence or or whatever and come up with some size standards for the different data basis and regulations that fit those sizes please please consider what you're doing tonight and giving some thought to helping us thank you thank [Applause] you anyone else good evening my name is mish I live on 2528 uh count uh farming uh 220th Street in Farmington right next to the golf course uh my comments uh seem to Echo some of what you heard before I promise you I did not collaborate with them it just shows how the feelings are unanimous of the people uh in this area in your last meeting you approved the resoning of the golf course and two other tracks to for a hyperscaler data center that sits between two established residential Community as mix use commercial industrial I get it that you're here tonight to uh approve the Amendments that made to the pdu some of you understood that the ordinances governing the mix use commercial IND Industrials uh don't even come close to being relevant to a hyperscaler data center something that is 205 square foot 750 megawatt of power consumption you heard the group here already about the significance of that um I'm tremendously appreciative of the council members that understood the gravity of this data center and either voted no or tried to make changes to the track proposal to make it easier on the residents very much appreciate of that I think the problem is that this use case is not mixed use commercial industrial what is being proposed is not mix use commercial industrial it is this heavy industrial this mixed zoning this is not mixed use because it's a single use there's only one tenant so let's call it what it is it is not mixed use it is not commercial in a sense that none of its intended customers are from Farmington from this County nor probably not even Minnesota uh it is not truly Industrial what is unprecedented with his unprecedented appetite for power and water it is really heavy industrial the concern I want to register with you tonight is that mix use um our state Regulators did everyone in misj unjustice by not getting in front of this many years ago because again data centers very small they were not hyperscalers this is hyperscaler and you're unfortunately faced with making decisions where you don't have the same resources as the state does either technical either zoning environmental so you are tasked with the unfortunate task of getting in front of this hyperscaler nothing like it is in the state today today so you're forced to make those decisions not just for this instance but other places in Farmington that somebody else may come to put another data center so this is not a single use case please as you make changes to the pdu think about where else somebody else may come and want to put a hyperscaler data center um as you go going through reviewing the changes the variances that are mentioned a lot of them some of you have seen been to people's properties have seen how close this can be in reality not in just in pictures and documents uh if I could suggest 100 foot setback certainly what track is proposing is not adequate for that level of hyperscaler data center uh BMS probably need to be higher they mentioned walls I don't know what that means but it is in the revised pdu without any specifics they may use it they may not who knows what that is uh limiting building Heights to reduce the impact to the adjoining area again this is not just this case it is if somebody else comes in and wants to build something like this somewhere else in the Department community and limiting the number of buildings per acre it's something you can definitely do I also have a number of questions the document that um Tony sent out does the city own this or is this tracks property there are some items that are either incorrect or needs clarification in the uh document once the document is published in an agenda becomes a matter of public record so you making a copy of it um essentially you own that copy but when it comes to the uh jurisdiction for review amendments alterations that ultimately falls on City staff Andor the uh the appointed or elected body to approve any changes to the document okay so um Tony is not here so I would raise just a few questions oh uh on page uh four item six it says this PUD shall have Municipal sewer and water service available as the pro uh proposed project progresses does that mean for the entire facility and Farmington is responsible to provide them with uh the the uh those facilities so because that item is on the agenda and we've shuffled the order of it if Tony you would go out and chat with him when he's finished um okay we have an item that Tony would not be involved on prior to okay that that is fair I will put I will talk to Tony about those items again in closing I want to thank all the council members that put their heart and soul in doing what is right please think about it's not just this one instance you're setting up standards for other things similar to this that would go into other communities again some of these guard layers some of these standards minimum set of Standards should have been done by the state they didn't do their job made your job easier I hope you'll do what's right thank you very much thank you [Applause] are you going to take comments or comments at the agenda item as people are speaking here get back up I to take care present since people are going they're like talking like this is going to be the agenda item so I'm back up to the unless you want to comment go ahead ma'am hi I'm Nancy ared 22165 bont Avenue I am here for this microphone and that camera I'm here to speak to Farmington residents since these City officials will not residents I know you are busy you're raising your families and trying to make a living but sadly you really need to start paying attention to what this city is doing do you know that the new comp plan update shows they plan to change the south end of Arington into industrial do you even know that the map is on their website do you know we have three different sets of ndas between the city of Farmington and Technology Park entities at least that's what it looks like we know the two data centers what's going on with this third why the industrial zoning on the south end Tony says there's nothing going on with a third they are not going to tell you until it's too late because that's how this City Works they play very dirty the city was required to engage the community and get citizen input before they amend and update their comp plan and they threw some special meetings up on their website last minute dozens of us showed up on October 30th at City Hall and we stood for two solid hours in the hallway and begged and I mean begged Holly be the only council member there to vote for us to support us and not against us we brought research and facts and just a few nights later without a blink Holly voted against us along with Josh Hoy Katie and Nick thank you Steve for standing for us November 12th another special Community engagement meeting oops canceled by the city day of no explanation given they don't want your in good news December 10th there is a tentative public hearing on their website bad news they've already voted November 4th to put the seventh largest data center in the world right next to our homes they schedule public hearings after they make the critical votes so you really don't get an input they think you are stupid the city has required was required to get responses from surrounding communities on their comp plan Amendment they sent to the Met Council they gave our surrounding communities only 30 days to respond on the letter not the required 60 days they know that is true because they are in a rush to get this past and they play dirty they think surrounding communities are stupid too they won't catch on that 30 days were shaved off right this city clearly thinks the 60-day rule by why the Met council is stupid too they don't have to follow rules and have integrity the city will play dirty whenever they can by whatever means necessary to meet this date and the city knows that they aren't following the annexation agreement they have with Castle Rock but they play dirty they have their attorney look for loopholes so they can claim that they don't have to comply they think CER rock is stupid too don't they Josh they know the intent of the annexation agreement but they don't care by whatever NE means necessary right Council right Kristen Shout out to Holly B she is starring in a film a docu series My Town look it up on YouTube and Facebook please comment my town about rural Towns how great rural towns are the films mission to learn why people choose to live where they do and to discover the opportunity The Innovation and connectedness found in rural communities Holly B is a featured star the funny part is she and the council who took the rural away from thousands of us while we begged her not to and then stars in a movie about our great rural Town kind of funny we all knew Holly was quite an actress the city paid $25,000 to be in the film Lord Lord knows they need some good PR that is hypocrisy I've emailed the council mult multiple times I've never received one response from Nick Katie or Josh Hoy not one return message these people don't want your input Farmington residents there's something called the Sunshine laws it gives ordinary people like me the right to public documents at reasonable cost so Ordinary People can afford them and have access to them a law for the little guy they are meant to Foster transparency and Trust in government I requested records from the city a while ago all documents between track and the city officials electronic copies so it's easy and even offered to drop off a flash drive the rules state that they cannot charge me for an attorney to redact information or time to separate public info from private info they can charge only actual costs plus the hourly wage Plus benefits of a city employee doing the actual retrieving and they can't charge me de wages right Dan ouch they can only charge me what a clerk gets paid if clerks do this job I got a quote 3 weeks later they found 2,558 emails via via keyword search and 1,500 documents for a charge of what Josh $7,000 estimate estimate is underlined and in italics payment needed upfront they are charging me 93 hours of employee time to transfer the emails they found via keyword search and documents onto a flash drive yes 93 hours two and a half weeks of full-time pay the hourly rate they're charging me is what $73 an hour they make pretty good money at the city I am in the wrong business I asked for a breakdown of the quote 8 days later I got an updated quote the number of emails increased by almost a thousand in just one week's time there must be a flurry of communication going on this last week between you guys and track now the grand total is $8,000 this is your city this is how they treat you I'm betting we'll find that the issue was never if track was going to get that land but rather just a matter of when they were going to get that land I'll come back and give updates so so you think so they think I'm stupid they think these people are stupid they think you are stupid they don't play fair and they play dirty they will do whatever they think they have to do this has all been willful neglect of the people pay attention tonight residents watch what this city votes on and passes on tonight they never asked for our input they never came to us in a good faith meeting asking what changes could be made to make the largest data center in Minnesota easier to live by since they are going to force it on us anyway stay tuned and watch they will plow forward without city codes created for data centers and they will plow forward without asking us because they are in bed with track and they all Play Dirty they will force this data center on us using any means necessary Farmington residents please start paying attention thank [Applause] you my name is Randy lar Ro and I live at 215th Street in Farmington um I just wanted to let everybody know that this does not just affect those two neighborhoods and a few residents it also affects the adjacent neighbor neighborhood such as Sapphire Lake in Parkplace I spent 3 hours on Sunday going door too knocking on my neighbors notifying them telling them what's been going on I talked to over 30 residents in Sapphire Lake over half had no idea what was going on less than a mile south of us um I just don't understand how us residents living that close weren't even aware I learned a month ago from a Facebook feed let's see sorry I'm not a public speaker I just wonder what else I could have done to help inform my community my neighbors because that's what we do in a community but I feel like it's been late I'm late in the game and I need more time and not all voices have been heard I just want to say that Us in living in South Farmington we feel completely blindsided by our city it affects a whole lot more people than you have accounted for as most of us weren't even aware of what has been going on our voices have not been heard thank [Applause] you one of the one important thing that the last lady had talked about was the communication and how she has to go to all her neighbors and nobody knows um when I when I was listening to that I'm like why didn't the city send out a letter like you did when you did the Aken road project of course you only gave us four days notice but at least all the residents in the taxpayers would have known what the hell was going on and so that's just you know you guys are again I'm clear clearly going to State some uh things out here that I think you ought to take in into consideration um the first one is your whole process of public hearings not public hearings and and again making the the taxpayers uh aware of this I we can you know us residents can get lawyers together just as Castle Rock is getting lawyers together because of the annexation agreement but you know when it comes to the process us taxpayers can get lawyers together and we can fight the system and say how how the long did you do the processes so table this until you know that the three public hearings that you probably should had at the last meeting were weren't done was that legal was it not legal you're going to need time to do that so I would not take a vote tonight on that and I urge that the the taxpayers of Farmington uh step up and and we'll find out what what the processes are cuz clearly you don't clearly you don't know I mean I I said before when when we did Vermillion river crossing the commercial development we had processes in place we had to jump through hoops we had a city planner at that time bring us things that we had to do this this this and this just to do that here no you guys are rubber stamping this thing right right right down the road and like I say I said it before how far did how fast did this get I had no idea in the spring of this year when you had somebody come in talk about aui well it says nothing about a Data Center and then that was this spring um CS members we were told this over and over and over when I was up there we're policy makers you guys are policy makers you're supposed to make the policy and the city follows your direction to make those policies happen you know it wasn't that way 15 years ago when I was up there we had a lot of direction from the staff that oh the we got to do this we got to do this you know what the staff ran this Council 15 years ago still doing that same damn thing today you have to look in saying you know step back and say what do you guys stand for you stand for the city that's what I did when I was on the council I stood for this city and when it wasn't right I spoke up uh City will a of restrictions for residents I can't water between noon and and six o'clock and and I can only water on odd days for my address what restrictions would you have on these people would could they not pump water out of the aquafers from 12: to 6 probably not they'd have to shut their business down but hell I I I would get a fine I would have the waterboard come to my house and give me a ticket for watering between noon and 6 well I get it we we want want to try to conserve water you know I ran very little water on my new yard that I put in my expense or city expense but I had see yeah but I ran very little water because I left the grass long and didn't half the water all the time very just in the fall when it dried when it was dry so water cont you know conservation is the biggest thing um but again we're going back to how much uh how much restrictions are you going to have on those how much water are they going to pull out of the aquifers again I'm going to go back to you know when I was on the council the the the parks and recor Parks and Rec director back then if I'm not mistaken we're one of two cities in the United States that has a River run through our sea I believe the other one was Veil Colorado you guys are willing to throw that down the freaking tubes trout streaming all right down the freaking tubes that's your heritage thank think about it let it sink in a little bit that's what we stand for I talked about the Vermilion you know the trout stream there the damage to it um how much payment will the city get from the from track for tapping into existing infrastructure out there that developers put in why should they reap the benefits of what developers had to do to build houses out there Executive Estates other ones but that's the one that's right out there they ran all the infrastructure out there I'm suspecting that when they track runs the infrastructure on their property they're just going to tag into that into those lines all right Elementary of course they will and and the developers and the taxpayers are all part of that where's their part not going to be any part um the city does not I mean we talk about Vermillion River Crossing how like I said we had buildings out there that we had to P put fake facades on the top of them so that we couldn't see air conditioners and what else is on the top of them we we we were set on Heights certain Heights out there we could the the heights of the building could only be so much I built my garage 20 something years ago I could only be from the concrete to The Ridge of the uh roof 20 ft 80 foot buildings where the hell those belong in Farmington nowhere I mean stick them down in Minneapolis where the highrises are that's where that belongs not here not our city for order the annexation agreement again I talked to somebody this weekend they're they're having their lawyers and you know I run a business I come to your house to do windows what have you I have an I have a contract hey unless I run into something that I can't foresee you know for my type of business then there there is change orders but other than that I write you a contract God damn it I follow it this contract was worked on it back in 2005 with other people that had served on the board in Castle Rock how would you feel if we just threw a contract away you came and hired me to do a job and just threw the contract away and said oh no this is it we're just gonna you know I'm not going to put that window in I'm going to put this one in that's too too freaking bad there's litigation right there City attorney could set you know like the other person said City attorney could find a loophole in it but I'll be damned I don't find loopholes and contracts when I sign them I abide by them somebody brought up before the the end user in this who is the end user we don't know well let's go back to the the river the water and everything else who might be the end user let's say it's 3M look what the going on with 3m in Cottage Grove in the water think about it table this and get these people out the hell out of this hell thank [Applause] you anyone else I got one more thing mayor I asked my wife to come up and speak but frankly she just she doesn't like talking to adults she's a school teacher so one thing I just like to just mention really quick um simply is around this term and it has bothered me and I mentioned it since day one as Technology Park and I told you that it was not in city code nowhere nowhere does it exist in city code and Tony has come to say and well that's fine it's we're just going to call it a technology park it's not going confus anyone right no one's going to be confused this is on Facebook ffs for sake is what that means a technology park is not a data center light industrial is also not a Data Center Technology Parks can be offices research development facilities and a number of things people should not arbitrarily assume it's another data center they were talking in reference to the Bango project FF s it is a data center it's absolutely a data center what's going in at the Bango project and you talk about litigation because Tony continues to use this term he's confusing people it's not a term that's in city code it's not a term that should be used to define a project of this scale also they're saying light industrial is not a data center they are assuming that you were protecting them zoning things not light industrial you're protecting them you're not you decided and I am saying you because you voted on it you decided to make it mix use commercial industrial and that which that zone or that District allows for light industrial this has been time and time again a heavy industrial there's a gentleman sitting right over there he runs Dakota Electric I talked to him after the meeting and I said hey these people don't know what they just voted on they have no idea they think that they're voting on mixed use commercial industrial they have no idea that they just voted on a heavy industrial project and I mentioned it to them again tonight and he goes oh they know they know don't take it from me have that guy come up here and tell you how many users across Minnesota or not even across Minnesota just for Dakota Electric use 700 megaw and anywhere close to that what is the zoning which that they use is it light industrial zoning or is it heavy industrial Z Z and where is that threshold from a energy consumption standpoint where's that threshold there's a threshold there I don't know what it is that guy's smart he wears a suit at least he looks smart where is that threshold is it 15 megawatts well back in 2015 when data centers were first entered into city code the average data center sorry sorry when data centers were first entered into city code in 2015 the average data Center was 5 megaw five and that was considered a light industrial use this is 700 and and if you don't think that there's not a litigation claim Jennifer Bordeaux just made a very very awesome claim for litigation she is notably confused on a social media platform about Tony's use of a technology park she has no idea what it is because it's not defined in city code but Tony's throwing it around like it is we've confused you have confused citizens and if you sit here and look at me and like man that guy's crazy he doesn't know what he's talking about this is this is this is perfect for litigation this is wonderful I am so happy she made this comment they don't have any she any idea ffs guys what are you doing [Applause] all right we move on to item seven which is the consent agenda Leo uh yeah just briefly the AL ambulance has a staffing Amendment and uh we took the red line and just made it into an actual Amendment to the agreement that was provided to council thanks okay motion to approve the consent agenda second motion by ktie second by Steve all in favor I all right we'll move next to item eight uh the next item on the agenda is a public hearing for the petition to vacate a drainage and utility easement over P 14 Tac 82500 t00 tac4 Outlaw D Vermilion Grove um at this point I'd like to open the public hearing for this item thank you mayor council members uh before you this evening uh we did have a uh public hearing scheduled for a vacation of a drain and utility easement we do not need this on there we go uh for drain engine utility easement uh in Outlaw D of the vermillian growth development um at this time we're asking that that item be continued um we were planning on having the plat that is proposed for the property um in conjunction with the vacation of the easement itself um the applicant is changing up the plat a little bit so we won't be seeing that until the December uh regular uh meeting on the 16th um so we are just looking to combine the the plat and the vacation of the easen at the same meeting um doesn't make sense at this point to hold the public hearing to vacate the easen until we have the Plaid approved as well so um the action as requested this evening is just to continue the public hearing to the December 16th regular city council meeting motion to continue the public hearing second motion by Steve second by Katie all in favor say I I I the opposed no we'll continue the public hearing to the December 16th regular city council meeting thank you all right we'll move on to item 12 then uh under the amended agenda under new business to accept business bids an award a contract for the Rambling River Center project Kelly good evening mayor and Council we are excited to be here this evening for the next step in the Rambling River Center renovation project which is to accept bids and award a contract as a reminder an agreement with JLG Architects for schematic design through construction phase for the Rambling River Center project was approved by City Council on May 6th of 2024 the engineering team on the project is pulson and Clark which includes electrical mechanical and Structural Engineering the renovation work includes but is not limited to relocation of the fitness room new main entry two new gender neutral restrooms an outdoor patio replace the and all exterior doors and windows new rooftop mechanical units new switch gear which is electrical new interior finishes flooring painting and new St tiles just to review the project schedule um we are here tonight November 18th to accept the bids and award a contract um we have been on on on task since we started this schedule in May with a JLG um if things are approved tonight we will plan for a preconstruction meeting the week of December 2nd 2024 with substantial completion by n March 31st 2025 as a reminder at the October 7th 20224 meeting city council approved the plans and specifications and authorized the advertisement for bids the plans and specs were based on the agreement with JG Architects approved on May 6th 2024 the full scope of the proposed renovation work identified in the planning study that JLG uh did that was approved by City Council in January of 2024 and the K Anderson facility condition assessments that were identified at the raming River Center City Council author also authorized the advertisement for bids the same evening the advertisement for bids was posted in several places including the Dakota to Tribune on October 11th and 18th 2024 Quest CDN online the Minnesota Builders Exchange the R Rochester Builder exchange and the city's website bids were due Tuesday November 5th at 2 p.m. and opened and red at Tuesday November 5th at 3 p.m. eight bids were received CM Construction Inc of Burnsville Minnesota is the low bidder here you can see the bids all eight bids CM Construction company's bid was 2, 21,26 the engineers estimate for this project for construction cost only was 1,961 1033 please note the engineers estimate didn't include mobilization and permit fees but these are included in the bids as shown on this screen if we were to remove um the mobilization and permit fees from CM constructions bid the difference between um the difference between the engineer estimate and CM construction company was $28,000 500 between the engineers and CMS also as you can see the spread between the lowest five biders is just $162,500 as a reminder this project will be funded by Community Project funding fiscal year 22 2023 grant for $750,000 a donation of $50,000 from men West Bank for construction of the outdoor patio and 1,758 th000 in tax abatement bonds please note this 2 2, 558,000 is the total amount available for both the construction and soft costs soft costs include architect engineering fees testing inspections Furniture fixtures and equipment to capture the benefit of the city's tax exempt status for building Mater materials the city will need to eventually enter into a purchase aging agreement purchasing agent agreement Agreements are built for construction projects and the city stands to save money by going this route with construction projects there might be surprises or issues requiring a change that can't wait for the next city council meeting for approval thus staff is requesting approval of change orders for a total amount of $100,000 with a maximum amount of $50,000 allowed for any single change order increase without prior city council approval a little bit about CM Construction Company Inc of Burnsville Chuck and Mary Peterson started CM construction company in 1992 and are still inv involved currently in the day-to-day operations of the company they have successfully completed similar projects in other Metro cities and school districts including recently dcota County the city of viina and the City of Prior Lake I spoke with staff members for from each of these entities things I heard from each of these were they communicated regularly and provided detailed information project was completed on time and at or under budget good managing of Subs um was one of the comments I heard some project Subs run wild not on this one all would work with CM construction company again and I know one city mentioned that they plan to use them on some lower project that they don't have to put out a bid and can go right to a company for a little bit about the rang Liver Center project superintendent from CM construction he will be full-time on the project meaning he won't share um his services with another project a little bit uh more about him he was raised in Farmington he remembers going to the center when it was a library he's a Farmington High School graduate and his mom still lives in the neighborhood so we thought that was a an interesting fact that hopefully we'll have someone on on the team from C CM construction that has um more than enough Pride for for the project the action requested tonight is to accept the bids and award a contract for the Rambling River Center project to CM Construction Company Inc of Burnsville in the amount of 2,2,2 and adopt resolution 2024-25 that approves the following agreements the AI a 101 2017 the AI a101 2017 exhibit a which is the insurance the supplementary conditions modifying the AIA 1012 2017 and the AIA 1012 2017 exhibit insurance and the purchasing agent agreement approve the author authorizing contracts in subst substantially the form submitted and the mayor and city clerk are hereby authorized and directed to execute the authorizing contracts on behalf of the council staff may approve change orders without Council approval up to a total of $100,000 with the maximum amount of $50,000 allowed for any single change order staff is permitted to execute these and other relevant documents with that I'm happy to answer any questions you may have thank you Katie I have no questions it's exciting to see this project come to fruition after years of discussing it and uh also the $750,000 in Grant coming in to help fund it is is awesome thank you Steve yeah I really appreciate your work on this Kelly and I the cool part is the story about the contractor um and since uh David pitof is here I know he can relate to that too that you know it's kind of important to know a little story about our developers that are coming in here so appreciate that part too Nick I think you guys said it best I'm excited to see this one to the Finish Line h no questions I know uh our our residents are are happy to see it started and are going to be happier to see it finished so let's go I don't have any questions I I appreciate the due diligence of uh our process here and I mean obviously the the $ 34 million do Grant you know even though it was in uh congressionally directed spending from you know fiscal year 23 it's almost 25 now it kind of gives us a precursor to what's next with the PD so uh it's just great to see it come in come into fruition and um the end of March will be here before we know it and it'll be amazing on the other side so thank you uh to you and your team for all your hard work with that I would seek a motion uh to approve the action as requested motion to approve second motion by Katie second by Holly call the rooll please council member bernatz yes council member lean yes council member Wilson yes mayor hoit yes council member burnam yes thank you Kelly all right next on our agenda is item 10 under petitions requesting Communications is the final plat and planned final plat and final plan unit development for the farm and Technology Park Tony all right uh good evening uh Council and mayor before you this evening is the final plat and final plan unit development for the Farmington Technology Park uh track is the applicant and they're requesting uh the review of the final PL and final PUD uh the property consists of three Parcels as the council is aware that includes the Fountain Valley Golf Course uh and the former Angus property which consists of two uh separate Parcels uh which are currently owned by the uh School District the plant itself consists of three lots spread over just 338 Acres lot one block one is uh just over 150 acres it's the northern portion of the data center campus lot two block one is 2.07 Acres uh this would be deeded to the city uh for utility purposes and then the third lot is lot one block two which is 185 uh plus acres uh this in this includes the southern portion of the data center campus uh this SL also is encumbered with approximately about 69 Acres of flood plane that runs through the property the plat does provide a 75t wide uh right of way along the eastern boundary of lot one block one this would be for the future Dakota County biscan Avenue uh the city council did approve the preliminary plat and preliminary plan unit development uh on November 4th the final plat is consistent with that approved preliminary plat uh this is just a copy of the plat itself uh showing the the three lots uh with the two uh larger Lots being uh split by 225th Street and then the uh lot two block one the 2.7 uh 2.07 Acres uh lot is in the very northwest corner of uh the Plaid itself adjacent to County uh Minnesota 50 uh as council is aware uh tract is proposing this as a master plan data center Technology Park uh with up to 12 Data Center buildings and two administrative buildings uh that would equate to about six Data Center buildings and one Administrative Building per lot uh keep in mind that when we reviewed this at the preliminary plat stage uh what was shown was a representative site plan um that basically shows the maximum of what could be built out on that property and that's what's reflected here on this uh slide um doesn't mean that's what is ultimately going to be built there uh the square footage of the data centers again based off of the maximum um the northern campus would be up to 1.6 uh million square ft and 933 ,000 Square ft on the southern campus uh the northwest corner of lot one block 2 is labeled for reserve for future electric utilities this would be a potential location for a electric substation as that would be an accessory use for uh any data center use I do want to mention future site plans will be required to be approved uh by the Planning Commission prior to construction of any data center building or ancillary use on the property itself there are four ant anticipated accesses for uh the two campuses the north camp campus would include access off of Minnesota 50 and 225th Street West the southern campus would be off of 225th Street West and biscan Avenue uh there are turn lane improvements that will be required uh both on trunk Highway 3 and Minnesota 50 as part of this development um that was done as part of a traffic study that was that the applicant had previously done that indicated the need for those uh those type of improvements um now we come to the final plan unit development um we are looking to do this as an ordinance versus how we've historically done these which is through a um plan unit development agreement um ordinance will put the um basically the same things that would be outlined in any uh PUD agreement but put it into code essentially um really what that helps with is um if anybody's looking to find that information it's not in an agreement that may be tucked under someone's desk or hard defined at least with the ordinance in place um all that information would be basically in city code and we would move forward with any PUD going forward in this fashion as well so um it's a a process that staff is um changing to move forward with with any uh PUD moving forward so council is aware uh with the Pud there are 14 different um areas that are discussed in the the ordinance that you have before you um I do want to mention that since the Planning Commission meeting the developer has uh offered some additional uh restrictions if you will that are included in the ordinance that you have in front of you um some of them deal with SE acts additional SE Acts and buffering um staff does find those acceptable they're they're again additional restrictions that are being placed um so we did include that in in in the prepared ordinances before you this evening um as IID mentioned there are 14 areas that are identified in the Pud uh it goes from building setbacks natural buffers Landscaping General design standards Building height fences electric utility lines noise parking substations private communication Towers maximum lock coverage lighting and then uh access uh as far as the um building setback and what I have here is the actual written form of what's in your ordinance um for the design standards uh what is shown in uh yellow is what has been changed since the uh Planning Commission and then the green areas are the ones that are uh recent as of um was recent as of today actually so um building setbacks again it provides for a minimum setback of buildings from property lines uh this includes a minimum setback of 250 ft from any property line adjacent to residential uses 150t setep back from any property line uh not adjacent into residential uses a 40ft set back from the right of way of 225th Street um what is shown here in green includes um a setback of 250 ft um for uh properties that are um adjacent to 225th Street specifically on the South Side um it's just clarifying that that that is the intent to include those properties in that 250 fot setback as well uh natural buffers uh provides for a 40ft wide natural buffer along the majority of the perimeter of the site um again what is uh shown in green at the bottom of this page here um illustrates some additional um extra wide buffering uh specifically along what would be the the southwest corner of the um northern campus um it would provide for a buffer of uh 80 ft in that location versus the the 40 ft so um Landscaping this provides for types of plantings that will be used throughout the site allows for the use of rock gravel or mulch as an accent material for maintenance areas adjacent to uh buildings and grounds or buildings or around utility access points it also provides standards for the landscape Shing of parking lots uh it also discusses the BMS uh including BM height and construction timing of those BMS uh the fourth area is the general uh design standards so this thing this would include things such as facade standard screening requirements uh things like that provides a language that provides protection from un undifferentiated surfaces on principal building facades uh by requiring the use of at least two of uh the following Design Elements being the change in Building height building step backs uh fenestration changes in building materials so pattern texture color use of accent materials overhangs use of canopies or porticos arcades and variations in the roof line uh including uh faux Windows green Walls and other enhanced design elements that could be approved by the Planning Commission provides language regarding the screen scening of both ground level and above ground uh mounted mechanical equipment and structures number five is our is uh regarding Building height maximum Building height on the site for principal structure is 80 ft however the maximum height at building setback line is 50 ft uh the provision allows for a stepb back approach to Building height uh for each one foot increase of Building height uh the building must be step back 5T maximum Building height for accessory structures 50 provides language at any building that is 80 ft and height must be set back minimum 400 ft from the property line adjacent to a residentially zone property uh number six fences uh provides requirements for security fencing and perimeter fencing allows for security fencing up to 14 ft in height and perimeter fencing to a maximum of 7 ft in height number seven electric utility lines provides language on the need for electric utility lines and their construction as part of the overall uh Center data center project number eight noise uh provides language that all noise generated from site shall meet the requirements that are established by the npca provides language that noise study be prepared at timel site plan that demonstrates that the applicable noise levels will not be exceeded based on on these specific systems and equipment that will be used at the site provides language requiring the installation of physical sound attenuation measures on any mechanical equipment that is installed at the data Cent Data Center building located in within 1,200 ft of any adjacent residential use uh under certain circumstances and then number nine parking requires a minimum of one parking space for each 1,000 square ft of office uh use on site 10 discusses substations and the need for outdor mechanical and electrical equipment uh that must uh that must be fenced and screened uh states that the fencing around the substation must be set back 30 ft from a from a property line adjacent to residentially zone property and that any substation equipment must be set back minimum of 50 ft from a property line uh adjacent to residentially zone property number 11 uh private communication Towers uh this provides language that these are permitted up to a maximum height of 80 feet uh and are subject to the building setback requirements as well 12 maximum mot coverage provides language that there's no maximum mot coverage for all uses built in the designated developable area 13 lighting provides standards for on-site lighting such as the maximum height of pole mounted exterior lighting which shall be 18 ft Additionally the maximum height of any uh building mounted exterior lighting fixture shall be 35 ft in height and then the last one uh deals with access and this is a new one uh that States primary access drives uh shall be a minimum of 250 ft from any uh directly AB budding residential property line uh this provision does not or does not apply to Residential Properties that are uh separated by right of we so those are the 14 uh standards that are being um considered uh this evening I did want to show this as at the preliminary plat um meeting um when this was discussed there was a number of comments and or um discussion based on fencing um for the site uh between what is perimeter fencing versus security fencing um what is shown here is uh a sight section uh that shows what that would look like um with the uh basically the perimeter fencing being at that 6 to 7 foot height regular residential uh type of fencing could be chain link rod iron Uh Wood privacy fencing uh the the developer has indicated that they are willing to work with the adjacent Property Owners to determine what type of fencing um could or would be installed um and as you can see with the security fencing that will be substantially located into the property um well beyond the natural buffer and bming um that would be on site as well so just to give you a perspective of the difference between perimeter and security fencing so the Planning Commission did review the final PL and final plan unit development at their regular meeting uh last week on November 12th and they did recommend an approval of both with a vote of 5 the action as requested this evening is by separate action approve the following adopt resolution 2024-25 approving and authorizing the signing of the the farming Technology Park contingent on the following and that being a development contract between the developer and the sa Farmington shall be executed and security and security and fees paid a submission of all other documents required under the development contract shall be required and then the SEC second action would be adopt ordinance 2024-25 thank you sir uh questions Nick so just for point of process to understand this between the final or the preliminary and the final you are basically compelled to approve unless you find significant reason between the preliminary and final that would suggest that the preliminary was not done correctly and everything that we have found to date in this in this revision list that you just went through is additive in its restrictions right right okay I won't make you rehash all of it but I have appreciate the effort thank you Holly no questions Steve yeah I've got a couple um so Tony do you know why the developer showing 10 buildings on this one and they showed 12 in the previous one is it I mean is there a specific reason that we're aware of about that uh no I don't know a specific reason um as I had mentioned the uh previous Representatives it's intended to be a representative site plan exactly okay I'll have a comment about that point later Leah um is an ordinance stronger than a contract in so in farmington's thank you for the question so in the past Farmington for a PUD has done a PUD agreement and that's been like zoning but also an agreement right and that causes ISS issues with recordability or modifying it eventually in the future once the development's all done so it seemed like a very good opportunity to say let's just make the switch to ordinance it's something that's in the council's control everyone can access it that doesn't mean that all of those other Agreements are still valid zoning but this way it's it's much more just straightforward and practical and look appable yeah but I mean the reality is you really can't an amend a contract in the same way you can amend or change an ordinance because an ordinance apprise essentially is the entire city of Farmington you know all its residents this is the ordinances or the code that we live under so that seems to be more Broad and and flexible than a contract uh I I personally would disagree with that um but it's it's much more kind of the council's control than to have your zoning rely on someone else you know signing an amendment like down down the line or something like that to modify a PUD And to clarify though the ordinance is specific to the site not Citywide that's correct Yep this is just uh zoning overlay and it's meant to be add transparency for residents to be able to access this information and look it up not an agreement to Tony's point that is put away somewhere else and can't be looked up at right that you'd have to to look up the records or yeah some other way oh for now that's all like up ktie yeah I was wondering if Kristen or someone from track could come up in regards to Jeff's comment that was made earlier uh regarding the setback that was discussed with him of the additional 100 feet thank you mayor members of the council my name is Jake Steen with Laren hofman we represent tract uh with respect to the increased natural buffer along those properties in the southwest corner of that Northern parcel uh and I would correct I I was not on that call but it was uh an 80 foot additional doubling that buffer so it was changed to double that buffer for those properties that don't have any intervening RightWay uh and that would be 80 ft and that's what's noted in here under number two on the buffers is what has been agreed to that's correct hi for the record Kristen Dean um on the phone I did not state a specific width in the increase of the buffer I said that we were looking at increasing the buffer to what size I did not say 100t I absolutely did not say 100 feet I did not provide a number number in that phone call I said that we were increasing the width of the buffer and that was something that we thought would help continue to work towards mitigating the impacts and then we discussed that with the city and agreed to 80 ft addition total did not say anything to him on the phone okay thank you say there good I appreciate the she doesn't pay any taxes here come on Jeff had an opportunity to speak earlier I was asking for clarification from the other side okay Mr schlauer made a comen Mr schler made a comment council member buram asked for clarification from the other party it's not picking sides or choosing who's right or who's wrong and the the net net of it always gets the last wi the net net of it was going to be my first comment and that's another item has been added from a 40 foot setback to 80 now if we weren't listening if we weren't hearing people and we were arbitrarily just railroading decisions through it would have been approved at the preliminary and the final would come back and it would look the same every measure that's been mentioned by Council that has come up has been addressed the setback the comment that I made and asked about the 80 foot building height and the um depictive fit plan was approximately 310 ft they took that feedback they listened to the residents and it was increased in the final PUD to 400t if they choose to go with 80ft buildings those are wins to discount for us to Discount that and say screw it we're not listening to you we're going to do it anyway is false we are listening we continue to hear and individually both on behalf of the council and our team we are working with the developer to make sure that there is a overlap something in the middle it's not going it's how are you working with us Josh you sit here and you tell me that you're working with the developer you don't work with us that's not how government is supposed to work especially at this level it's not all supposed to work at all if they have opportunity to come back and forth with you we have a First Amendment right to come back and forth with you as well that's not how it's you you talk about picking sides how much time did your staff spend with track today and how much time they spend with any of Us's residents you want talk a little back and forth you want talk about sides Josh we continue to listen you continue to do whatever the hell you want and no matter what it is unless it's an absolute of what anyone who's in objection of this project believes it won't be acceptable that is absolutely not true I sat out there with you for three hours I told you more than once I am four data centers I told this entire group that more times than I can ever and you know that I suggested when I was up there I suggested what about six what's a tax revenue look like when you have six buildings you're basing your toll decision off of six off of 12 buildings now 10 where are we at in this process where do we get to have a say I have closing statements during round table respective of how this goes I don't have any additional questions or comments as it pertains to the final plat and final PUD the record I have two questions motion to approve the adopt resolution of4 109 no just hold on please I mayor question Mr Mr pitof please for a second um mayor are we allowed so I thought you you were asking for questions is this also the same time for our comments or is it just questions for Tony that I that comments sender question questions okay are always permissible okay so you started to make a motion I just want to finish you can finish all right so you know my opinion about the project is no different than it was two weeks ago I I would really I mean this decision today has tormented me for the past two weeks and you know I I don't feel comfortable with this I I genuinely do not feel like the public has had an opportunity just to complain for a session or two that's my own opinion now they it is true and and the City attorney is true that that the Planning Commission is the vehicle to do that it would be a courtesy at our end but I do appreciate that um a couple of our residents allowed me to kind of check out you know the view from their back property today for the heck of it I decided to drive up to Rosemount and I just want to I mean for the perspective you know I I think this is the part I really would implore my peers to consider because whatever we do here is going to be the standard for whatever we do in the future and we are the body that is ultimately in control staff does a very nice job of doing their part and it it wouldn't be relevant for us to be critical of Staff recommendation they do their part but ultimately it's our decision as the elected officials to do our part so I'm looking at and boy this is moving slowly um so I was up at the ma meta data center now keep in mind meta is about 700,000 Square ft this proposal is about 3.6 times larger um so proportionally you would think that maybe the standards might look different and if I can get this Dar thing to pull up but the and it it's just yeah going crazy I mean so I'm not going to do that to the public while they're watching um the bottom oh no here it is well maybe at some point I'll get it here the bottom line is the setbacks for so along County Road 42 the setback for County Road 42 is over a th000 ft now keep in mind the entire meta project there's not homes anywhere nearby I mean there's a couple of projects that are a little bit down the way but where it's situated right now there's actually nothing else right by there um there is a th000 foot setback in one area 900 in a different area 600 in a different area and there's also unique setbacks for the electrical substations and so I think you know this is our first run at doing this and I do think members of the public have made some really good points with with the fact that we need to slow down and do it right not only for our taxpayers but quite frankly for the devel Vel oper as well I mean we need to make sure that we are the ones that are essentially collaborating and making those important decisions um the other point I was going to make here which again this is still not pulling up so we'll just leave that part Alone um you know being out in Jeff's backyard 250 ft is hardly anything um you know I think that we should really slow this down we need to look at what a 750 or th000 foot setback um and the reason I asked Tony about the number of buildings this is the point I was going to make the reason I asked Tony about the number of buildings is when we're talking about setbacks the number of buildings is incredibly important so if we have you know up to 12 buildings that's going to be situated on this parcel much differently than six buildings is going to be so you know and I know you know this Tony so you know if you can imagine let's say eight buildings the setbacks are probably going to be different but if we Define the setback you know requirement as being 250 ft well then we as a city have boxed ourselves into a corner and I'm going to tell you right now that if I lived on Calico court and I saw 250 ft out and the possibility of a 50ft building that's that's terrifying to me that is way too close um you know we can argue or talk about the distinction between mixed use commercial industrial and Industrial I personally believe this should be Zone industrial but then again I didn't support the rezoning last week that's my own personal opinion and I do think it's super important for us to have more thoughtful discussions you know this is two critical decisions or two massive decisions within a twoe time period I don't think it's a wrong idea at all for us to delay this um and I would make a motion to table this are there any other comments or questions for Tony that's for a second first he's got a second on his motion there's there's already a motion on the table and Dave with all due respect that would be the process Dave with all due respect I'll handle it there's a there's a moot let hold on one second well sir I mean the only thing it is my it is my own 600t is to the guard house on the east side that's but it's a th000 ft around every place else 600 ft is to the guard house are you are you referring to meta yes okay I mean I'm looking at the agreement yeah no I mean like literally I have the the December 21st packet from last year pulled up and if I Hadad and scrolled ahead I'd be right there and have all the oh here it is here it is actually I will read this because unless the city of Ros Mon's documents are different so and I think this is super important County Road 42 um 900 foot setback um gosh sakes Blaine Avenue on the East 600 foot setback on the south 765t setback and then on Audrey Avenue of which there is a Housing Development going in in that area 1,365 ft the substation on Blaine Avenue 504 ft and on the south 192 that's why I think us as a council need to talk more about this because 250 ft is not going to cut it um in this area how much of that feedback have you given directly to staff who have been working with on this project over the last six months I have you know to be honest I have not given staff this specific comment I I will just leave it at that are there any other questions or comments for Tony okay the first motion on the table is by Katie if you'd like to withdraw your Mo I withdraw my motion can I ask the two questions they public safety questions I ask for two questions before you take the vote thank go ahead Dave have you guys had any discussion with the fire department so back on my ter term on the council my very first uh development that we were approving was a city street that went down to a dead end and I went and talked to our Solid Waste manager at the time which is Ben which was a great staff member a great guy went up and talked to him and said hey we have our garbage trucks running down this street and they have to back all the way out that was the way the development was was made and he goes never had a council member come talk to me about that I said all right I said we will not do that we will not put one person in Jeopardy of being hit by a garbage truck backing up we came back to the council we changed that development so that there's a u color back in there for all police fire ambulance school buses and everybody to be able to make a clear turn around and not jeopardize anybody life on this as far as the fire department on this building are they able to get a fire under control on this many 80 foot buildings or will that whole side of town just be Ash that's my first question have you had conversation ations with our fire department and the fire chief as if they could handle something like this in an emergency Tony on this or any other project do we consult with Public Safety we do as to how it will ultimately affect them we do yes do we continue to have further conversations with our leadership at both departments within Public Safety as developments start to proceed and ultimately a build plan is presented density contents all the things do we continue with that process yes sir thank you so there has been con there has been conversations with the fire chief that I get that where we have mutual aid but if Mutual aid from other cities are are out on their calls you've had conversation with our fire chief that our fire department would be able to handle a serious fire out at this location Tony just answered the question yes secondly is the Angus property my recollection is the school district still owns that and quite frankly doesn't Bryce still own the golf course until this is finalized and then those things are are sold does the school district well back when the school district bought that property it was slated for a new school out there that the taxpayers had to pay for have you had discussions with the school district as to what they they bought that for a new high school technically are they going to put a high school out there legally can they sell that for something like this have you just had discussions with the school board about this our team which includes the city administrator have the council had workshops with the school board when I was on the council we had workshops with other entities I.E the school district Apple Valley Lakeville has the council your policy makers has the council had discussions with the school district I'm sure he has I'm sure she has I'm sure she has have you the council has joint work sessions with the school board yes and you've talked to the school board about this particular property and this particular use on an individual basis I won't speak for my peers but as a body in a public forum no that is not our lane that's a workshop the school district owns property who has a body of elected representatives to make decisions ultimately sent to their subcommittees and their hired staff for local government I.E city council to start dabbling in Schoolboard matters that is a gross overreach of government we're the last say you're dabbling in their matters I'm just saying did you have workshops on them because when I was on the council and we were having all kinds of workshops where the new high school is we met all the time we had workshops we had meetings we had everything what you're telling me is you're not having workshops with the school district you may talk to them one on-one but that's not really the right way of doing this neither as a body you need to have a a workshop with them we had several of them Dave you asked for two questions I answered your questions Steve you don't know how to do your job Steve will you please restate your motion for the official record yes I will make a motion that Council tables this item and direct staff to work with Council and the Planning Commission to further discuss this project and Define the standards that we are going to work with there's a motion on the table is there a there's no second some people step up look at yourselves look what you're doing this is your city i' seek a motion to adopt resolution 2024 Tac 109 approving and authorizing the signing of the Farmington Technology Park contingent on the following one a development contract between the developer and city of Farmington shall be executed and security and fees paid submission of all their documents required under the development contract shall be required motion to approve motion by K second second by Nick call the role council member lean yes council member Wilson no mayor ho yes council member bur yes council member berad yes seek a just flip us off like you did the last i' seek a motion to adopt ordinance 2024 tac12 approving the final PUD and establishing PE Tech 1 Farmington Technology Park motion to approve second motion by Katie second by Holly call the RO please Wilson no mayor yes council member B yes council member Bern yes yes M yes Le anything to add there uh for round table or generally for Round Table neither Nick Holly no Katie no Steve none Kelly I just want to announce that open door is tomorrow um at Faith Methodist United Church with the rambling ver Center closed it will be there until we reopen uh faith is located at 710 a street Street in Farmington uh they can either enter on 7th street or 8th Street um same time still 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. thank you ma'am Chief price nothing at this time Chief ruford nothing sir de thank you mayor and councel I just would like to remind the public that there is a groundbreaking ceremony for the Rye apartments that will take place tomorrow afternoon and then on Wednesday we'll be doing a been cutting at um the new gym in town which is called um Revelation Fitness thank you thank you John nothing this evening there all right we've had a long two hours on top of numerous other meetings and Planning Commission meetings and whether people want to believe it or accept it or not um these decisions are not easy and they're not taken lightly believe it or not the hardest part about sitting in these seats is the question gets off often asked what if it was in your backyard what if it was next to you part of the commitment that you make to this seat is that even if it is in your backyard you have to make a decision with the majority of the community and I have listen to the community for six years for you lost both those I have listened to residents for six years we have needs in this community that have to be met guy with no agenda whatsoever No Agenda whatsoever you lost you lost by four you won by 400 votes talking about listening W by 400 votes I'll take a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second motion by Holly second by Nick all in favor I I we're adjourned at 907 [Music] [Music]