diff --git a/control_plane/src/local_env.rs b/control_plane/src/local_env.rs
index f4026efbbf..da7d7e5469 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/local_env.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/local_env.rs
@@ -165,6 +165,8 @@ pub struct NeonStorageControllerConf {
 
     #[serde(with = "humantime_serde")]
     pub long_reconcile_threshold: Option<Duration>,
+
+    pub load_safekeepers: bool,
 }
 
 impl NeonStorageControllerConf {
@@ -188,6 +190,7 @@ impl Default for NeonStorageControllerConf {
             max_secondary_lag_bytes: None,
             heartbeat_interval: Self::DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL,
             long_reconcile_threshold: None,
+            load_safekeepers: true,
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/control_plane/src/storage_controller.rs b/control_plane/src/storage_controller.rs
index 16e12f4e02..77a9075aa7 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/storage_controller.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/storage_controller.rs
@@ -537,6 +537,10 @@ impl StorageController {
             args.push("--start-as-candidate".to_string());
         }
 
+        if self.config.load_safekeepers {
+            args.push("--load-safekeepers".to_string());
+        }
+
         if let Some(private_key) = &self.private_key {
             let claims = Claims::new(None, Scope::PageServerApi);
             let jwt_token =
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/tasks.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/tasks.rs
index c90f81889b..589ac5ae88 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/tasks.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/tasks.rs
@@ -473,21 +473,15 @@ async fn wait_for_active_tenant(
     }
 
     let mut update_rx = tenant.subscribe_for_state_updates();
-    loop {
-        tokio::select! {
-            _ = cancel.cancelled() => return ControlFlow::Break(()),
-            result = update_rx.changed() => if result.is_err() {
+    tokio::select! {
+        result = update_rx.wait_for(|s| s == &TenantState::Active) => {
+            if result.is_err() {
                 return ControlFlow::Break(());
             }
-        }
-
-        match &*update_rx.borrow() {
-            TenantState::Active => {
-                debug!("Tenant state changed to active, continuing the task loop");
-                return ControlFlow::Continue(());
-            }
-            state => debug!("Not running the task loop, tenant is not active: {state:?}"),
-        }
+            debug!("Tenant state changed to active, continuing the task loop");
+            ControlFlow::Continue(())
+        },
+        _ = cancel.cancelled() => ControlFlow::Break(()),
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/storage_controller/src/main.rs b/storage_controller/src/main.rs
index 04dd3bb3f6..380ffeb9b7 100644
--- a/storage_controller/src/main.rs
+++ b/storage_controller/src/main.rs
@@ -138,6 +138,10 @@ struct Cli {
     // Flag to use https for requests to pageserver API.
     #[arg(long, default_value = "false")]
     use_https_pageserver_api: bool,
+
+    /// Whether to load safekeeprs from the database and heartbeat them
+    #[arg(long, default_value = "false")]
+    load_safekeepers: bool,
 }
 
 enum StrictMode {
@@ -350,6 +354,7 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         start_as_candidate: args.start_as_candidate,
         http_service_port: args.listen.port() as i32,
         use_https_pageserver_api: args.use_https_pageserver_api,
+        load_safekeepers: args.load_safekeepers,
     };
 
     // Validate that we can connect to the database
diff --git a/storage_controller/src/service.rs b/storage_controller/src/service.rs
index 9a3e042c24..d53b3d6598 100644
--- a/storage_controller/src/service.rs
+++ b/storage_controller/src/service.rs
@@ -389,6 +389,8 @@ pub struct Config {
     pub long_reconcile_threshold: Duration,
 
     pub use_https_pageserver_api: bool,
+
+    pub load_safekeepers: bool,
 }
 
 impl From<DatabaseError> for ApiError {
@@ -1405,15 +1407,20 @@ impl Service {
             .set(nodes.len() as i64);
 
         tracing::info!("Loading safekeepers from database...");
-        let safekeepers = persistence
-            .list_safekeepers()
-            .await?
-            .into_iter()
-            .map(|skp| Safekeeper::from_persistence(skp, CancellationToken::new()))
-            .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+        let safekeepers = if config.load_safekeepers {
+            persistence
+                .list_safekeepers()
+                .await?
+                .into_iter()
+                .map(|skp| Safekeeper::from_persistence(skp, CancellationToken::new()))
+                .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+        } else {
+            tracing::info!("Skipping safekeeper loading");
+            Default::default()
+        };
+
         let safekeepers: HashMap<NodeId, Safekeeper> =
             safekeepers.into_iter().map(|n| (n.get_id(), n)).collect();
-        tracing::info!("Loaded {} safekeepers from database.", safekeepers.len());
 
         tracing::info!("Loading shards from database...");
         let mut tenant_shard_persistence = persistence.load_active_tenant_shards().await?;
@@ -8022,7 +8029,8 @@ impl Service {
     ) -> Result<(), DatabaseError> {
         let node_id = NodeId(record.id as u64);
         self.persistence.safekeeper_upsert(record.clone()).await?;
-        {
+
+        if self.config.load_safekeepers {
             let mut locked = self.inner.write().unwrap();
             let mut safekeepers = (*locked.safekeepers).clone();
             match safekeepers.entry(node_id) {
@@ -8054,7 +8062,7 @@ impl Service {
             .await?;
         let node_id = NodeId(id as u64);
         // After the change has been persisted successfully, update the in-memory state
-        {
+        if self.config.load_safekeepers {
             let mut locked = self.inner.write().unwrap();
             let mut safekeepers = (*locked.safekeepers).clone();
             let sk = safekeepers
diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py b/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py
index 5159ad4e3b..a8aad03459 100644
--- a/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py
@@ -1128,6 +1128,13 @@ class NeonEnv:
         if self.storage_controller_config is not None:
             cfg["storage_controller"] = self.storage_controller_config
 
+        # Disable new storcon flag in compat tests
+        if config.test_may_use_compatibility_snapshot_binaries:
+            if "storage_controller" in cfg:
+                cfg["storage_controller"]["load_safekeepers"] = False
+            else:
+                cfg["storage_controller"] = {"load_safekeepers": False}
+
         # Create config for pageserver
         http_auth_type = "NeonJWT" if config.auth_enabled else "Trust"
         pg_auth_type = "NeonJWT" if config.auth_enabled else "Trust"