Mandan's New Data Center Ordinance Draft Impacts Local Development

Executive Summary

Mandan's Planning and Zoning Commission is set to release a revised data center ordinance draft, a move that puts local development timelines, siting decisions, and permitting strategies squarely in play. The ordinance signals that Mandan is formalizing its approach to data center growth — a step that will define which projects advance and which stall. Developers who engage early with the regulatory process stand to gain a meaningful first-mover advantage. Those who ignore the draft risk being caught flat-footed when zoning restrictions or permitting requirements crystallize into binding rules.

What Happened

The Mandan Planning and Zoning Commission was expected to release a revised draft data center ordinance by 12 p.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2026. The release was timed ahead of a community meeting designed to gather public feedback on the proposed regulations.

The commission's role is to shape how and where data centers can be developed within Mandan's jurisdiction. The draft ordinance represents a formal step toward codifying rules that have likely been discussed informally as data center interest in the region has grown.

A community meeting was scheduled to follow the draft's release, providing an open forum where residents, developers, and other stakeholders could weigh in before the ordinance moves toward adoption.

Source: KFYR-TV

Why This Matters

Municipal data center ordinances are becoming a defining factor in site selection across mid-market and secondary metros. When a city formalizes zoning and permitting rules for data centers, it creates a compliance framework that can either accelerate or delay projects by months — sometimes years. Mandan's move puts the ordinance on the record, shifting the development environment from informal tolerance to structured governance.

For developers, the release of a draft is the best opportunity to influence outcomes. Once an ordinance is adopted, revision requires a much higher political lift. Community meetings at this stage carry real weight; the feedback gathered can directly reshape setback requirements, noise standards, water use provisions, and permitted zoning districts.

Industry context: Secondary and tertiary markets across the Midwest have seen increased data center scouting activity as primary markets face land scarcity, power constraints, and interconnection queue backlogs. Mandan's ordinance development suggests the city is responding to genuine developer interest, not legislating in a vacuum.

The timing matters too. Ordinances drafted in 2025–2026 will govern projects that come online in the late 2020s. Developers evaluating long-horizon site acquisitions in the Mandan area need to understand what this regulatory framework will look like before committing capital.

Power & Interconnection Impact

The source article does not detail specific power or interconnection provisions within the draft ordinance. However, any municipal data center ordinance with substantive teeth will almost certainly touch on power infrastructure requirements.

Industry context: Data centers are among the most power-intensive land uses a municipality can permit. Zoning ordinances commonly address on-site electrical infrastructure standards, backup generation requirements, and utility coordination obligations. If Mandan's ordinance includes such provisions, it will directly affect interconnection planning timelines and the viability of specific sites relative to substation proximity.

Developers should treat the draft release as a trigger to assess available transmission capacity and substation headroom in the Mandan area. Assumption: Basin Electric Power Cooperative and MDU Resources are likely the relevant utility stakeholders given Mandan's location in North Dakota — confirming which utilities are in scope for the ordinance's power provisions is an early due diligence step.

Understanding interconnection capacity relative to the permitted zones defined by the ordinance will be a critical filter for separating viable sites from paper opportunities.

Land, Zoning & Permitting Impact

This is where the Mandan ordinance will have its most direct and immediate effect. Zoning rules will determine which parcels are eligible for data center development and which are not. If the ordinance restricts data centers to specific industrial or commercial zones, it immediately narrows the universe of viable sites and can reprice land in permitted areas.

Permitting timelines are the other major variable. A well-structured ordinance with clear review criteria can actually accelerate project delivery by removing ambiguity. A poorly structured one — with undefined review periods or subjective approval standards — creates schedule risk that investors will discount into their underwriting.

Assumption: Given that this is a revised draft rather than an initial proposal, the commission has likely already incorporated some developer or community feedback. That revision history, if publicly accessible, would reveal which provisions have been contested and where compromise is still possible.

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Developers should pay close attention to any provisions addressing setbacks from residential areas, noise and visual screening requirements, stormwater and water consumption standards, and the specific zoning districts in which data centers will be permitted by right versus by conditional use permit. The conditional use permit pathway typically introduces discretionary review — and discretionary review introduces delay.

Investment Takeaway

Monitor the draft immediately. The August 6 release window is the inflection point. Developers and capital allocators with Mandan area exposure should obtain the draft and conduct a gap analysis against their project parameters within days, not weeks.
Engage the community meeting process. Formal comment periods are leverage points. Developers who submit written comments or appear at public hearings create a record and signal seriousness to the commission.
Identify which parcels land in permitted zones. Once zoning districts are defined in the ordinance, land values in compliant areas will adjust. Early identification of qualifying sites is a competitive advantage.
Assess conditional use permit risk. If data centers require a CUP rather than a by-right permit, build 60–120 additional days into project schedules as a conservative baseline.
Watch for water and power provisions. Any operational requirements embedded in the ordinance — cooling water limits, backup generation mandates, utility coordination requirements — will affect operating cost modeling and should be flagged for pro forma adjustment.

InfraSale Market Angle

For developers actively sourcing sites in the upper Midwest, the Mandan ordinance draft is a near-term decision trigger. The window between draft release and ordinance adoption is the period of maximum influence and minimum risk — regulatory frameworks are still malleable, and the cost of engagement is low relative to the cost of compliance surprises post-adoption.

Developers on the InfraSale platform with interest in North Dakota or adjacent markets should treat this as a prompt to assess their site pipeline against the emerging zoning framework. Landowners in Mandan with parcels in industrial or heavy commercial zones should be evaluating whether their assets are likely to sit inside or outside the permitted footprint the ordinance will define.

Community stakeholders and local government entities involved in economic development should engage directly with the Planning and Zoning Commission process to ensure the final ordinance attracts the capital investment Mandan is evidently positioning itself to receive.

Market Signal

Location: Mandan, ND
Primary Issue: New data center regulations
Infrastructure Theme: Zoning and permitting
Who Benefits: Local developers who adapt to new regulations
Who's at Risk: Developers unaware of regulatory changes
InfraSale Takeaway: Monitor the ordinance draft for key development insights.

Take Action

The Mandan data center ordinance draft is live — and the comment window is open. Developers who engage now, before the ordinance is finalized, shape the regulatory environment they will operate in for the next decade. Site selection decisions in this market should be made with full visibility into what the zoning framework will permit.

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FAQ

What are the key changes in the new Mandan data center ordinance?

The full details of the revised draft were not available in the source article, which was published ahead of the August 6 release. Developers should obtain the draft directly from the Mandan Planning and Zoning Commission and review provisions related to permitted zoning districts, setback requirements, noise standards, and any power or water infrastructure conditions that could affect site eligibility and project timelines.

How can developers engage with the community regarding the ordinance?

The community meeting scheduled after the August 6 draft release is the primary formal engagement channel. Developers should attend in person or submit written comments to the Planning and Zoning Commission, focusing comments on specific provisions — such as by-right versus conditional use permit pathways — where input is most likely to influence the final text. Building relationships with local economic development officials in parallel is also a productive parallel track.

What should I know about data center permitting in Mandan?

Mandan's permitting process for data centers will be substantially defined by the ordinance currently in draft. Key variables to clarify include whether data centers will be permitted by right in specific zones or will require a conditional use permit, what the review timeline looks like under each pathway, and whether there are operational requirements — such as utility coordination or environmental review thresholds — embedded in the approval process. Assumption: North Dakota's relatively business-friendly regulatory environment may support streamlined review, but municipal-level ordinances can introduce local complexity regardless of state posture.

Why does a small-city ordinance matter to data center investors?

Municipal ordinances are the binding layer of land use law that governs where capital can deploy. A restrictive ordinance in a market with otherwise favorable power costs, land availability, and tax environment can negate those advantages entirely. Conversely, a well-designed ordinance that creates a clear by-right permitting pathway can make a secondary market like Mandan competitive with more established data center corridors.