Menomonie council reviews draft I‑4 data‑center zoning ordinance; no vote taken

City officials reviewed a proposed amendment to the I‑4 (data‑center) zoning district in a special Menomonie City Council meeting focused on balancing local controls with state and federal limits. Mayor opened the session and turned the discussion over to the city's attorney, who said the draft builds on an existing but unassigned I‑4 zoning 'wall' and is intended to put additional, project‑specific requirements on data‑center uses; the council did not vote on the text.

"The city of Menomonie is far beyond the point of a moratorium," attorney Larry Konopak told the council, arguing that Menomonie has already done the initial zoning work moratorium communities must still complete. Konopak and staff said the draft tries to push local restrictions to the maximum the city can legally sustain while recognizing that a future council could change the rules during a rezoning decision.

Staff described concrete requirements in the draft: expanded setbacks (a minimum 400 feet from property lines for many features and up to 800 feet for loud equipment), a requirement that developers provide a detailed water‑conservation plan updated every three years, a prohibition on new on‑site wells as a permanent water source, wastewater pretreatment for problematic constituents and explicit PFAS/PFOA discharge limits incorporated into code. The ordinance also limits generator hours and bans steam turbines that would create larger air emissions.

Councilmembers debated tradeoffs: some argued strict rules are warranted to protect neighbors and natural resources, while others warned that overly restrictive or novel rules could invite legal challenges or create 'spot zoning' problems. Staff repeatedly recommended drafting standards that are defensible under state and federal law and using development agreements to capture site‑specific protections such as property‑value guarantees.

The meeting closed without action on the ordinance; the council will revisit the draft in future sessions and could add or remove provisions before any rezoning application is considered.