(The Center Square) – Denver officials are planning to put a moratorium on new data centers.
Mayor Mike Johnston announced his support for a moratorium on Tuesday, noting it will give policymakers more time to review and update the city’s regulations.
Johnston said in a video that his goal is “to create the right set of regulations to make sure we can build data centers that protect all of our values.” The video was recorded in front of the Denver Gas and Electric Building, which now houses a data center owned by CoreSite.
The mayor acknowledged the need for more data centers and how they might impact neighborhoods, noting they use water and electricity.
“We want to make sure they fit in our neighborhoods in a way that protects all of our residents,” he said.
Proposals for data centers by technology corporations such as Microsoft and Oracle have popped up across the country, often in states offering tax incentives for their development. Residents often oppose them, citing concerns over energy rates, water quality, noise and property values.
“In Denver, we’re different. We both are pro-business and we’re pro-climate,” Johnston said. “We want to be one of the world’s headquarters for technology, and we want to be one of the first cities to get to be 100% renewable. And if we do this the right way, we’ll be able to hit both of those goals.”
In a news release, Johnston’s office said data centers “provide significant economic impact through high-paying jobs and property tax revenue.”
City Councilmember Paul Kashmann said that “while there remains distance between the Mayor’s view and mine,” he’s committed to working with all stakeholders.
“Data centers bring with them a unique series of environmental challenges and neighborhood impacts,” Kashmann said in the news release. “My office has been looking into this topic in depth in recent months. I believe the complexity of the issues involved merits our city taking a pause to give them adequate consideration.”
“I look forward to working with the administration, the community at large and industry voices to see if regulations – as have been instituted in sister cities around the country – will or will not make additional data center development possible in the City and County of Denver,” he said.
According to Denverite, CoreSite is constructing a data center campus in Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood that’s opposed by some in the community.
The news release from Johnston’s office stated: “Existing data centers and projects currently permitted or under construction are not impacted by this decision, though they may be expected to follow new guidelines once announced.”
Johnston’s office did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment.
Democratic lawmakers in the General Assembly have introduced two data center-related bills so far during the current legislative session.
House Bill 26-1030 would create a Data Center Development Authority operating within the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and put in place a sales and use tax exemption for data center projects. Senate Bill 26-102 would add regulations to large-load data centers, such as requiring electricity generated for them to come from renewable resources and protections for ratepayers.
In a statement emailed to The Center Square, the Colorado Municipal League said it supports local control over land use and zoning.
“The Colorado Municipal League supports local authority over local land use and zoning decisions, which rely on robust engagement with residents and businesses, to determine where development occurs within communities,” CML Executive Director Kevin Bommer said. “Land use and zoning decisions are best made locally, and in the case of home rule municipalities like Denver, they are a matter of local and municipal concern.”
