Agenda - Economic Development Authority - 05/16/2013

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Public Open House On April 18, 2013 the City hosted an ("Open House") regarding the future development of the Subject Property. Nearly 250 surrounding property owners were contacted via direct mailings. Comments were received from Open House attendees as well as written and verbal comments received outside of the Open House. In total, the City received twenty-six (26) comments. Of those that responded, twenty-three (24) preferred the residential concept (92%) and three (2) preferred the data center (8%). A detailed analysis is included in the attached Power Point. Staff received a petition in opposition of a data center development, and in support of a residential development, from surrounding property owners on April 26. Said petition included 69 signatures and has not been reviewed or analyzed by Staff. General common inquiries included, but were not limited to the use of the site as a school, park, or renovated Fire Station #2 in place. There were also multiple inquiries as to whether the data center could be sited elsewhere in the community. It should be noted that the Anoka -Hennepin School District does not currently have plans to develop the site as a school for the foreseeable future. The Parks and Recreation Commission has reviewed park needs for the area in the past, and has focused on safe pedestrian connections to other recreation areas in close proximity. The City continues to review future trail and safe pedestrian connection needs for the area. For those opposed to the data center concept, common comments included concerns with decrease in property value, presence and view of data center being undesirable, compatibility with the character of surrounding properties, noise, and long term risk/potential re -use of the site. For those accepting of a data center, common comments include traffic impacts for residential uses being undesirable as well as residential development reducing the privacy of surrounding property owners (hours of operation). Attached to this case is extensive information attained through the public input process. Data Center Prospect Update Over the past few months, Staff has received inquiries from national developers/builders, commercial real estate agents, Connexus Energy and the State of Minnesota regarding the development of the Subject Property for a data center user(s). Although Staff has not worked directly with a data center prospect, the market remains active and interest in the Subject Property remains significant. Observations: Included below are staff comments regarding the public Open House and the revised feasibility study/site concepts. SECTION 1: OPEN HOUSE Concerns listed below were raised at the public Open House regarding the development of the Subject Property for a data center user(s). Noise A number of residents raised concerns regarding the noise generators and air conditioning units would create. Data centers do require significantly sized backup power generators. Additionally, data centers create a significant level of heat due to the extensive use of computer servers; therefore, significant use of air-conditioning units is required. Both types of equipment, generators and air conditioning units, do create noise pollution. Noise pollution concerns can be resolved with proper land use regulations. For example, increased building setbacks, requiring enclosed/indoor storage of generators, requiring air conditioning units to be located at the center of building rooftops and establishing noise restrictions on the Subject Property. For example, the Cities of Anoka and Chaska have noise decibel (dB) restrictions; 65Db and 55dB respectively. The City of Ramsey could consider adopting a noise decibel (dB) restriction on the Subject Property of 55dB. 55dB is often compared to office noise, normal conversation, living room in suburban area, typical business office,