Jan. 30, 2026
A petition drive that sought a public vote on the City Council’s decision to rezone land where developers want to build a large-scale data center has failed.
According to the city clerk’s office, a referendum petition with 5,012 signature was submitted on Thursday’s deadline, short of the required 6,704 valid signatures, or 5 percent of the city’s registered voters, required by state law.
“By law, the city clerk must and has rejected the petition, and the ordinance remains in effect,” the city of Sioux Falls said in a news release Friday.
The City Council vote Jan. 6 to rezone the property south of Rice Street and east of Veterans Parkway for light industrial uses.
The 164-acre site is owned by Gemini Data Center SD LLC, which is connected to a California-based family office led by Michael Anvar that has a history of investing in real estate.
Sioux Falls data center developers detail next steps