The city of Monticello, Minnesota is on the verge of approving a zoning ordinance that would open the door to massive data center campuses — some as large as several football fields — in close proximity to residential neighborhoods. Residents who live just a few hundred feet from proposed construction sites are sounding the alarm, and city leaders need to hear them before it's too late.

Families in Monticello have invested everything in their homes. They chose this community to raise their children and build their lives. Now, without any meaningful say in the matter, they are being told a data center may go up in their backyard — bringing years of construction noise and dust, followed by permanent noise, light pollution, and heavy water and energy consumption that could strain local resources for decades.

The city's proposed ordinance requires only a 200-foot setback from residential areas. That is not enough. Residents have shown up in large numbers, packed city council meetings, worn red, carried signs, and made their voices heard — and they still feel like no one is listening. As Monticello homeowner Jenna Van Den Boom put it, "We've invested time, money and energy in making these our forever homes. And then we don't get any say — it feels very, very wrong and very violating."

To be clear: Monticello has real advantages that make it attractive to data center developers — available land, water access, and proximity to Xcel Energy's nuclear power plant. That means the pressure to build here will keep coming. A weak ordinance isn't protection. It's an invitation.

We are calling on Monticello Mayor Lloyd Hilgart and the Monticello City Council to reject the current ordinance and go back to the drawing board — with residents at the table. Any rules governing data centers in this community must require substantially greater distance from homes, give residents a formal role in the approval process, and make clear that Monticello will not sacrifice the quality of life of its families for the benefit of outside developers.

The people of Monticello deserve better than a rubber stamp. Listen to them.