The Mesa County Board of Commissioners is slated to consider a temporary moratorium on new data centers within unincorporated areas of the county. The proposal, which aims to pause development for up to a year, will be discussed at the board’s meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 9 a.m. The meeting will take place at the board's usual location, 544 Rood Ave. in Grand Junction.
Grand Junction municipal staff have indicated they are also working on a similar ordinance for city property, reflecting a broader effort to address the rapid growth of the computing industry in local zoning regulations. According to the draft resolution prepared for the commissioners, “Data center development pressure has increased markedly throughout Colorado and the Intermountain West.”
The proposed resolution would block various bureaucratic steps necessary for data center development, including land use applications, hearings, and approvals. It would also prevent the county government from negotiating any inducements for these buildings for a 12-month period. Commissioners would retain the flexibility to end the moratorium early or extend it through another resolution.
The primary goal of the temporary pause, as stated in the draft resolution, is to “preserve the status quo” and allow county legal and community development staff to complete a rewrite of the Land Development Code. This rewrite would include new, supplemental standards for data centers, developed without the urgency created by pending applications. These new provisions would address critical aspects such as the buildings’ review process, water and electrical demands, and noise standards, alongside other criteria.
Discussions among area city officials have also highlighted an interest in aligning regulations. The resolution’s preamble notes that members of the Grand Junction City Council have expressed a desire for consistent city and county standards. This alignment aims to prevent a facility located near municipal boundaries from potentially avoiding regulation by either jurisdiction.
Public sentiment, both locally and nationally, suggests significant concerns regarding data center development. A Magellan Strategies poll, published on Sept. 13, found that 82% of Colorado voters opposed data centers in their own cities or towns. A slightly smaller majority, 75%, opposed such construction anywhere in the state. Respondents cited worries about water conservation, electricity rates, and heat, noise, and light emitted by the buildings.
This trend is not unique to Colorado. A Gallup poll published in May indicated that 70% of Americans opposed data center construction in their local areas, with approximately half of respondents expressing concerns about resource demands, particularly water and electricity. The Mesa County Board of Commissioners' consideration of this moratorium and the associated public hearing will provide an opportunity for residents to voice their perspectives on this evolving issue.
