Denver just slammed on the brakes on new data centers Monday after members of the Denver City Council voted unanimously to impose a one-year moratorium on permits and site development plan applications for data centers as the proposed primary use.

Close to 60 individuals signed up for the required public hearing preceding the vote.

The moratorium will take effect May 21 and will include the formation of a working group tasked with assessing the impacts of data center development and crafting policy recommendations in line with current city plans.

Because data centers are not specifically regulated within the City and County of Denver and have no specific permitting requirements, city officials argue a temporary moratorium is needed, giving Denver time to develop “thoughtful regulations” that address community safety and equity.

At this time, the CoreSite DE3 facility is the only permitted data center under construction in Denver’s Globeville Elyria-Swansea neighborhood.

The new 170,000-square-foot data center is situated at 4900 N. Race St., adjacent to the National Western Stock Show complex, and would not be affected by the new ruling, but the company’s two future sites would be subject to any new regulations that come forth from the working group.

“As a critical infrastructure provider, CoreSite recognizes the importance of responsible growth and environmental stewardship,” Megan Ruszkowski, CoreSite’s vice president of marketing, told The Gazette in a written statement. “Innovation and investment in Denver’s digital economy can co-exist with smart land use and environmental standards.”

For some, the pause is not enough. They argue Denver should use the moratorium as a bridge to a full and permanent ban.

However, for others, a moratorium, whether temporary or otherwise, signals that Denver is “not open for business.”

“This moratorium, however well intentioned, sets a troubling precedent for how Denver engages with the local and global business community, and we want to offer a better path forward,” Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. Vice President Daniel Riley said. “Let me be clear, the Metro Denver EDC does take seriously the concerns that have been raised around energy consumption, water use, community engagement; those are legitimate policy questions, and the community and the city of Denver are right to want answers, but a blanket moratorium on an entire industry is not the right tool to get there.”

Labor proponents contend that data centers will provide substantial employment opportunities not only in technology but also for pipe fitters, welders, and service providers.

“In addition to the immediate construction work, data centers create long-term employment opportunities for ongoing maintenance, equipment upgrades, retrofits, expansions, and operational support,” said Sergio Cordova, who represents Denver Pipefitters Local 208. “Those projects also help sustain apprenticeship programs and provide opportunities for younger workers to build long-term careers in the trades.

But community pushback is gaining momentum in Denver and other cities. Across the country, 69 jurisdictions have implemented active data center moratoriums, according to the U.S. Data Center Moratorium Tracker.

At least 25 proposed data centers were scrubbed last year – four times as many as in 2024 – after local protests, according to research by Heatmap, an energy news website.

Data center opponents cite concerns about water use, noise pollution and the extraordinary strain on local power grids.

Colorado lawmakers killed competing bills to regulate large data centers, leaving the facilities’ regulation in the hands of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for now.

The action leaves the state without new statewide rules even as those opposed to data centers warn the facilities could drive soaring electricity demand, higher utility bills and water-use worries. Industry representatives call such concerns overblown.

Denver City Council member Kevin Flynn remarked that the city’s zoning code has not kept up with the expansion and rapid acceleration of technology.

“The (data center) facility that’s under construction now, I think, was approved under the general category of storage and trade facilities, which really doesn’t speak to what this facility is,” Flynn said. “I know we’ve had data centers for decades, but the type and the technology and the resources they require have accelerated at almost a superhuman pace, and it’s hard to visualize what society and technology will be like in 10 years from now.”

Earlier this year, residents of Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood pushed back against the construction of the CoreSite data center, citing not only environmental concerns but also the city’s failure to adequately notify them before approving it.

Denver City Council President Amanda Sandoval offered a public apology for not stopping the CoreSite data Center when the company came to the city asking for tax breaks in October 2024.

“I just want to say to the members and residents in the Globeville Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, I’m sorry that I did not stop that data center when we were asked for a $9 million tax incentive,” Sandoval said. “I just want to personally take a moment and apologize to you all, because that was a misstep in thinking about what was being brought to us by the administration.”

Gazette’s Scott Weiser contributed to this report.