Opponents sue Hermantown over zoning changes for planned Google data center

A lawsuit filed by Stop the Hermantown Data Center could put Hermantown’s planned Google data center on a slower, costlier legal track, with the fight now centered on whether the city changed zoning rules to fit a private project in the Adolph neighborhood.

The group served the city with a complaint arguing the zoning changes violated spot-zoning restrictions and were adopted specifically to accommodate the project. If a court agrees, the consequences could reach beyond the land-use dispute itself. The project’s approvals, the city’s development agreement and the proposed property tax abatement could all face added uncertainty, while nearby property owners would be left waiting to see whether the 200-acre project west of Duluth moves ahead, is revised or is forced back through the city process.

The stakes are high because the project has been pitched as a major economic prize. Public materials and earlier reporting described it as a proposed $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion data center on about 200 acres near Midway Road and Morris Thomas Road. Hermantown has said Google announced plans for the project on March 3, 2026, and the city’s development agreement names Harmony Group LLC as the project company. In its tax abatement documents, the city said the assistance is intended to support a technology campus, enhance the tax base and create jobs.

At the same time, the city has continued moving through planning steps that keep the project in the public eye. Hermantown opened a 30-day public comment period on an updated Alternative Urban Areawide Review scoping document on March 31, 2026. The city said the updated AUAR study area covers 26 parcels totaling about 278 acres in southwest Hermantown, a smaller footprint than the initial AUAR adopted in October 2025. City materials also say the project’s modeled operations are not expected to exceed 50 dBA at the nearest residential homes under Minnesota Pollution Control Agency noise standards.

The political backlash has already been deep. The Hermantown City Council approved a zoning change on October 20, 2025, after more than four hours of testimony, with nearly 300 people crowding the council chambers and overflow space. More than 50 people later spoke at another meeting, and an earlier lawsuit filed in November 2025 challenged the city’s environmental review over water, energy, noise and light impacts. Residents from Hermantown, Midway Township, Solway Township, Proctor, Esko, Duluth and Cloquet have continued to track the project closely.

The next major test is set for May 4, 2026, when the City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposed property tax abatement. For Hermantown, the lawsuit has turned a zoning dispute into a broader test of how much legal and financial risk the city is willing to take to land one of northern Minnesota’s most controversial developments.