Denver pauses new data center approvals for year

Denver City Council voted on May 18 to approve a one-year moratorium on new data center development, freezing new zoning and site-plan applications while city officials study land-use, power and water impacts. The vote was unanimous, according to local reports and industry coverage. The ordinance pauses the acceptance, processing or approval of certain permits where a data center would be the primary use. (denver7.com) The moratorium is one of the clearest signs yet that local governments are moving to slow data center growth while they reconsider rules for electricity demand, water use and industrial siting. (datacenterdynamics.com) In Denver, the pause followed months of public debate and a February announcement from Mayor Mike Johnston and council members that they intended to pursue new guardrails. (axios.com) Johnston said at the time that the city needed to review and strengthen regulations as the industry evolved. ### What exactly did Denver stop approving? The ordinance covers the “acceptance, processing, or approval” of zoning permits, site development plan applications and site development plan amendment applications tied to data centers, according to the measure described in Denver’s legislative records and industry reporting. (denver7.com) That means developers can no longer move new primary-use data center projects through the city’s normal land-use pipeline during the moratorium. CoreSite’s DE3 facility, which is already under construction, is exempt because the moratorium does not apply to work that has already been permitted. The pause also does not apply to facilities primarily concerned with communication or telecommunications. (ebs.publicnow.com) ### Why did city leaders move now? Mayor Mike Johnston announced on February 23 that Denver intended to file the moratorium after community concerns about environmental and infrastructure effects. In that announcement, Johnston said data centers support the economy and technology services but that the city needed “clear and consistent guardrails” to protect resources and quality of life. (denver.legistar.com) Local coverage said the issue had become a flashpoint as residents and elected officials focused on the electricity and water demands of large computing facilities. Denver7 reported city leaders said Denver had no zoning code specific to data centers and no dedicated standards governing their energy or water use. (datacenterdynamics.com) ### Which projects and companies are part of the debate? CoreSite has been at the center of the Denver debate because its DE3 data center is under construction and is not covered by the new pause. Colorado Politics reported in February that city officials identified DE3 as the only data center then permitted and under construction in Denver. (ebs.publicnow.com) Denver also has an existing concentration of facilities. Data Center Dynamics, citing Energize Denver, said there are about 50 data centers in the city, with most of Colorado’s facilities clustered around Denver. That existing footprint has given city officials a large enough local market to review while they consider whether zoning and utility rules need to change. (msn.com) ### What will happen during the yearlong pause? The moratorium calls for a public engagement process that includes council members, utility companies, union representatives, an industry representative, advocacy groups, community members, a subject-matter expert and ex officio members from Denver city departments, according to a council slide deck described by Data Center Dynamics. (coloradopolitics.com) Denver’s legislative calendar shows the measure was handled as File 26-0431, a bill authorizing a moratorium on data centers. The bill had moved through committee earlier this spring before reaching the full council in May. ### When does the moratorium start, and what comes next? (datacenterdynamics.com) Axios Denver reported the one-year moratorium is expected to take effect on May 21. From that point, the city’s planning and policy work is expected to unfold over several months as officials gather public input and review possible standards for future projects. The next formal trail for residents and developers will run through Denver’s council and public-meetings systems, where File 26-0431 and related hearings are posted. (datacenterdynamics.com) The city said in February that the process would allow officials to review and strengthen regulations before deciding how new data center proposals should proceed. (axios.com) (denver.legistar.com)