The Hermantown City Council has passed all six resolutions related to the proposed Google data center project in Hermantown, Minnesota, following approximately four hours of public comment during a Friday night meeting. The majority of the public comment came from those opposed to the data center project.

Council Votes After Four Hours of Public Comment

The vote concluded a process that had already faced disruption. The meeting was originally scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, but councilors called and adjourned that meeting after more than an hour of protests from opponents of the proposed data center. A rescheduled meeting was later canceled and moved to Friday.

Leading up to the Friday meeting, Hermantown residents and students had called for a larger venue to accommodate the anticipated crowd.

The Six Resolutions Passed

The council approved the following six measures

Resolution 2026-132 addressed an environmental review petition. Through this resolution, the council rejected a citizen petition requesting an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for the Harmony Group data center project.

Resolution 2026-133 approved a special use permit for construction of a data center in a business and light manufacturing zoning district, subject to conditions.

Resolution 2026-134 approved the preliminary and final plat for the Hermantown Industrial Addition and established conditions for the final plat.

Resolution 2026-135 approved a development agreement and memorandum of understanding with Harmony Group LLC for the Hermantown data center project.

Resolution 2026-136 authorized the mayor and city clerk to execute a cooperative agreement between St. Louis County and the city of Hermantown for roadway and utility improvements. The agreement falls under county and state-aid project numbers CP 0013-1020569, SAP 069-613-050, CP 0056-1019892 and SAP 069-656-024.

Resolution 2026-137 approved a reuse and decommissioning agreement with Harmony Group LLC and Google LLC.

Background on the Project

The resolutions were widely viewed as pivotal for the future of Google's proposed Hermantown data center, which has drawn significant local attention in recent weeks.

The project involves Harmony Group LLC as a development partner, with Google LLC named alongside Harmony Group in the reuse and decommissioning agreement approved by the council.

The approval of the special use permit allows construction of a data center within a district zoned for business and light manufacturing, and the plat approval for the Hermantown Industrial Addition formalizes the land division needed for the development.

Community Response

Opposition to the project was prominent throughout the process. More than an hour of protests from project opponents led to the adjournment of the originally scheduled October 27 meeting, and the four hours of public comment at the Friday session were dominated by those speaking against the data center.

The council's decision to reject the citizen petition for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet was among the six actions taken despite that opposition.

The council's passage of all six resolutions clears the way for the Hermantown data center project to move forward.

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