diff --git a/apis/reaper/v1alpha1/reaper_types.go b/apis/reaper/v1alpha1/reaper_types.go
index 41105dc3e..b2aadf9ad 100644
--- a/apis/reaper/v1alpha1/reaper_types.go
+++ b/apis/reaper/v1alpha1/reaper_types.go
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@ type ReaperSpec struct {
 	// DatacenterRef is the reference of a CassandraDatacenter resource that this Reaper instance should manage. It will
 	// also be used as the backend for persisting Reaper's state. Reaper must be able to access the JMX port (7199 by
 	// default) and the CQL port (9042 by default) on this DC.
-	// +kubebuilder:validation:Required
-	DatacenterRef CassandraDatacenterRef `json:"datacenterRef"`
+	// +optional
+	DatacenterRef CassandraDatacenterRef `json:"datacenterRef,omitempty"`
 
 	// DatacenterAvailability indicates to Reaper its deployment in relation to the target datacenter's network.
 	// For single-DC clusters, the default (ALL) is fine. For multi-DC clusters, it is recommended to use EACH,
@@ -267,6 +267,11 @@ type ReaperSpec struct {
 	// +optional
 	// +kubebuilder:default=false
 	SkipSchemaMigration bool `json:"skipSchemaMigration,omitempty"`
+
+	// Whether this Reaper instance should register Cassandra clusters for repair. If this is set to false or omitted,
+	// this Reaper instance will only repair the CassandraDatacener referenced by DatacenterRef.
+	// +optional
+	ControlPlaneMode bool `json:"controlPlaneMode,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // ReaperProgress is a word summarizing the state of a Reaper resource.
diff --git a/charts/k8ssandra-operator/crds/k8ssandra-operator-crds.yaml b/charts/k8ssandra-operator/crds/k8ssandra-operator-crds.yaml
index 599955f17..260f6cb8f 100644
--- a/charts/k8ssandra-operator/crds/k8ssandra-operator-crds.yaml
+++ b/charts/k8ssandra-operator/crds/k8ssandra-operator-crds.yaml
@@ -31875,6 +31875,11 @@ spec:
                     description: The image tag to use. Defaults to "latest".
                     type: string
                 type: object
+              controlPlaneMode:
+                description: |-
+                  Whether this Reaper instance should register Cassandra clusters for repair. If this is set to false or omitted,
+                  this Reaper instance will only repair the CassandraDatacener referenced by DatacenterRef.
+                type: boolean
               datacenterAvailability:
                 default: ALL
                 description: |-
@@ -33292,8 +33297,6 @@ spec:
                     type: string
                 type: object
                 x-kubernetes-map-type: atomic
-            required:
-            - datacenterRef
             type: object
           status:
             description: ReaperStatus defines the observed state of Reaper
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/reaper.k8ssandra.io_reapers.yaml b/config/crd/bases/reaper.k8ssandra.io_reapers.yaml
index 9523a9dad..9d6d7e048 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/reaper.k8ssandra.io_reapers.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/reaper.k8ssandra.io_reapers.yaml
@@ -1030,6 +1030,11 @@ spec:
                     description: The image tag to use. Defaults to "latest".
                     type: string
                 type: object
+              controlPlaneMode:
+                description: |-
+                  Whether this Reaper instance should register Cassandra clusters for repair. If this is set to false or omitted,
+                  this Reaper instance will only repair the CassandraDatacener referenced by DatacenterRef.
+                type: boolean
               datacenterAvailability:
                 default: ALL
                 description: |-
@@ -2447,8 +2452,6 @@ spec:
                     type: string
                 type: object
                 x-kubernetes-map-type: atomic
-            required:
-            - datacenterRef
             type: object
           status:
             description: ReaperStatus defines the observed state of Reaper
diff --git a/controllers/reaper/reaper_controller.go b/controllers/reaper/reaper_controller.go
index cd3df5fa8..53bb714b4 100644
--- a/controllers/reaper/reaper_controller.go
+++ b/controllers/reaper/reaper_controller.go
@@ -91,24 +91,31 @@ func (r *ReaperReconciler) reconcile(ctx context.Context, actualReaper *reaperap
 	actualReaper.Status.Progress = reaperapi.ReaperProgressPending
 	actualReaper.Status.SetNotReady()
 
-	actualDc, result, err := r.reconcileDatacenter(ctx, actualReaper, logger)
-	if !result.IsZero() || err != nil {
-		return result, err
+	var actualDc *cassdcapi.CassandraDatacenter
+	// skip DC reconcile if Reaper is in Control Plane
+	if actualReaper.Spec.ControlPlaneMode {
+		logger.Info("Skipping Reaper DC reconcile, Reaper is in Control Plane mode")
+	} else {
+		dc, result, err := r.reconcileDatacenter(ctx, actualReaper, logger)
+		if !result.IsZero() || err != nil {
+			return result, err
+		}
+		actualDc = dc
 	}
 
 	actualReaper.Status.Progress = reaperapi.ReaperProgressDeploying
 
-	if result, err = r.reconcileDeployment(ctx, actualReaper, actualDc, logger); !result.IsZero() || err != nil {
+	if result, err := r.reconcileDeployment(ctx, actualReaper, actualDc, logger); !result.IsZero() || err != nil {
 		return result, err
 	}
 
-	if result, err = r.reconcileService(ctx, actualReaper, logger); !result.IsZero() || err != nil {
+	if result, err := r.reconcileService(ctx, actualReaper, logger); !result.IsZero() || err != nil {
 		return result, err
 	}
 
 	actualReaper.Status.Progress = reaperapi.ReaperProgressConfiguring
 
-	if result, err = r.configureReaper(ctx, actualReaper, actualDc, logger); !result.IsZero() || err != nil {
+	if result, err := r.configureReaper(ctx, actualReaper, actualDc, logger); !result.IsZero() || err != nil {
 		return result, err
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/reaper/deployment.go b/pkg/reaper/deployment.go
index 54e371649..767d9898b 100644
--- a/pkg/reaper/deployment.go
+++ b/pkg/reaper/deployment.go
@@ -62,11 +62,15 @@ func NewDeployment(reaper *api.Reaper, dc *cassdcapi.CassandraDatacenter, keysto
 
 	readinessProbe := computeProbe(reaper.Spec.ReadinessProbe)
 	livenessProbe := computeProbe(reaper.Spec.LivenessProbe)
+	storageType := "cassandra"
+	if reaper.Spec.ControlPlaneMode {
+		storageType = "memory"
+	}
 
 	envVars := []corev1.EnvVar{
 		{
 			Name:  "REAPER_STORAGE_TYPE",
-			Value: "cassandra",
+			Value: storageType,
 		},
 		{
 			Name:  "REAPER_ENABLE_DYNAMIC_SEED_LIST",