Duluth has moved data centers out of its office zones and into heavy industrial land, mostly on North Berkeley Lake Road. Homes are now capped at two kitchens.

Data centers can no longer open in Duluth’s office zoning districts. The Duluth City Council voted 4-0 on Oct. 12 to move them to the city’s M-2 Heavy Industrial district instead, which sits mostly along North Berkeley Lake Road. Council member Lamar Doss was absent.

The change is recorded in the council’s draft minutes of the Oct. 12 meeting. No one has applied to build a data center in Duluth. Community Development and Engineering Director Margie Pozin told the council the change was “a pre-emptive clarification.”

At the same meeting the council capped every house in Duluth at two kitchens. A third change is still to come: new rules for infill housing went back to the Planning Commission on Oct. 26, and the council now expects to vote on them in January.

What changed for data centers

Before the vote, Duluth’s development code allowed “data processing, hosting and related services” (federal industry code 5182) in the Office-Institutional (O-I) district. It did not allow them in Heavy Industrial (M-2) land.

The new ordinance, O2026-42, reverses that. City staff said the use belongs in industrial areas, not in O-I land, which in Duluth covers schools, churches and pockets of offices around town. The staff report in the Oct. 12 agenda packet says data centers are now allowed by right in M-2. Staff and the Planning Commission both recommended approval.

Council member Marline Thomas asked whether the rule would catch ordinary offices with a server room. Pozin said it would not. The rule follows the business’s industry code, which the city checks when a business applies for its occupational tax certificate.

The council also listed an “upcoming workshop on data centers” in its Oct. 26 work session notes. No date has been published.

The two-kitchen limit

Duluth’s code had no limit on kitchens in a house. City staff said that gap could let a single-family home become a duplex, triplex or fourplex inside without any change to the outside, which single-family zoning does not allow.

Ordinance O2026-43 allows a second kitchen in a single-family house, attached or detached, only if:

  • the house keeps one street address and no more than one electric meter
  • every part of the house stays open from the inside, with no doors locked or blocked to cut off the second kitchen
  • the second kitchen has no outside door of its own that bypasses the main entrance
  • there are never more than two kitchens in the house

The code now defines a kitchen as a room or area with a sink and permanent provisions for food prep, cooking and storage. That vote was also 4-0.

Infill housing rules head back to the Planning Commission

At the Oct. 26 work session, Deputy Director of Planning and Engineering Aron Hall brought the final version of a new infill development ordinance.

Council members had asked about an overlay for infill in the RM zoning class. Hall said the areas most likely affected had been narrowed to Hall Circle, Davenport and the Hill community. He advised against an overlay because it would make the code more complex. Garden-style apartments could go through a planned unit development instead, he said, which still gives staff and the council control.

The council sent the ordinance, with all its earlier changes, back to the Planning Commission. It is due to return to the council for a vote in January.

On the agenda Monday, Nov. 9

The council meets at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, at City Hall, 3167 Main St. The work session notes say staff will bring:

  • contracts with BS&A Software and Andrews Technology to replace the Tyler Technologies financial software the city has used for about 15 years, with first-year costs of $280,335 for setup and $125,295 for software support, paid from a capital project budget
  • a contract with BG Construction Group LLC, the lowest of four bidders, to gut and rebuild the inside of the city’s booster pump station, paid from 2023 SPLOST money, with a budget amendment
  • a change letting the Veterans Marker Committee meet as needed instead of twice a year

The city said the new financial software could take up to 12 months to set up, and property tax will be the last part to move over. The notes do not give the pump station bid amount. The full agenda is posted a few days ahead on the city’s Mayor and Council agendas page.

Police Chief Carruth also briefed the council on Oct. 26 on how the Duluth Police Department uses Flock Safety license plate reader cameras, including how the data is stored, who can see it and the safeguards against misuse. The council took no action.

The council’s November work session is Nov. 30.

What it means for you

  • If you own or are buying a house, a second kitchen is still allowed, but not a separate locked-off apartment with its own door or meter. Ask the city before you build: our building permits and zoning page has the contacts.
  • If you live near Hall Circle, Davenport or the Hill community, the infill rules will come back to a public Planning Commission meeting before the council votes in January.
  • Regular council agendas include time for comments from the public, Monday’s included. Our who to call at City Hall page has the city’s contacts.