BRAINERD — The Brainerd City Council made another move to limit cryptocurrency mining operations in the city.
Council members voted unanimously Monday, Aug. 5, to have staff draft an ordinance that would remove cryptocurrency mining, data centers, artificial intelligence centers and other similar uses as an acceptable use for outdoor storage facilities. Those practices would still be allowed in buildings, provided they meet local, state and federal requirements.
“If you don’t like it in outdoor storage … I think everyone would appreciate if we told them that up front,” Council President Kelly Bevans said.
The move comes after council members
in July for an outdoor storage facility in the industrial park to be used as a cryptocurrency mining facility by VCV Digital Infrastructure.
The company proposed constructing 26 storage containers, 40 feet in length, to house data machines and cooling towers for the operation at 1918 Thiesse Drive. Council members granted a permit to the business in 2022 for 12, 20-foot-long containers and 12 cooling fans, but that permit expired, as VCV did not make any improvements to the land within a year of issuance.
The request for prohibiting crypto mining in outdoor storage facilities came from Sarah Thiesse, who lives near the property in question and was one of several nearby residents who spoke against VCV’s proposal. Concerns from Thiesse and other residents included noise from the facility operating 24/7 and potential environmental impacts. Bevans agreed to put the item on the meeting agenda Monday night.
Questions came up regarding a currently operating cryptocurrency mining facility in the industrial park, with Council member Gabe Johnson asking why two businesses are being treated differently.
Just For Krypto operates on Kitty Hawk Court with the cryptocurrency mining seen as an accessory use and not a principal use, which does not require a council-approved interim use permit. The property owners have three parcels of land there, with the crypto operation technically on a separate parcel than the primary use structure, sparking Johnson’s question about it actually operating as a principal use and not an accessory use. Community Development Director James Kramvik said, under past staff, the city has in many cases considered adjacent parcels owned by the same person as one property, which is sometimes the case for schools. One of his aims, he said, is to go through the city and consolidate such properties, allowing them to conform with city zoning laws. He said he plans to work with the Just For Krypto owners on that issue.
With a few options before them Monday night, the council agreed to have staff members draft an ordinance prohibiting cryptocurrency mining and the other aforementioned practices as an outdoor storage use. That ordinance will first go in front of the Planning Commission, which would host a public hearing on the issue.
Council member Mike O’Day noted one perk to having cryptocurrency mining as an indoor use is that a building remains for future uses if a crypto company decides to leave, as opposed to just having vacant storage containers on a property.
The city’s Economic Development Authority, Public Utilities Commission and City Council will meet in a workshop at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, at City Hall to discuss an alternative plan from VCV Digital for a building instead of outdoor storage containers at their Thiesse Drive property.
THERESA BOURKE may be reached at
theresa.bourke@brainerddispatch.com
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Theresa Bourke started working at the Dispatch in July 2018, covering Brainerd city government and area education, including Brainerd Public Schools and Central Lakes College.
