Aurora said no to a data center pause again. Here's where Denver's moratorium stands

Aurora's City Council again failed to pass a pause on new data centers Monday night, even as Denver's own moratorium keeps new projects on hold inside city limits.

The Aurora proposal would have stopped the city from taking applications for new or expanded data centers until it adopts new rules, with no end date. Because a similar measure failed in August, it needed two-thirds support to come back. The vote was 6-5, short of that bar, the Denver Gazette reported. Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman voted yes and said he would bring it back, according to the Gazette.

Why Denver residents should care: the project that drove the Aurora fight, Vantage Data Centers' proposed Trident campus near E-470, sits just across the city line from homes in Denver's Green Valley Ranch. The Gazette reported that Vantage has agreed to look for other sites, and that Aurora's council advanced zoning rules that would bar data centers within 750 feet of residential zones. Those rules still need a final vote.

What our records add

Denver's pause passed unanimously. Council Bill 26-0431 bars the city from accepting or processing certain permits and site plans when a data center is the main proposed use (Legistar). Its sponsors were Council members Paul Kashmann, Darrell Watson and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez. The Community Planning and Housing Committee advanced it 7-0 on March 31 (roll call), and the full Council passed it 13-0 on May 18 after a public hearing (roll call).

Members expect it may need more time. At an Aug. 18 committee briefing, Kashmann said the working group's meeting schedule likely would not finish within the one-year window, and that it was increasingly likely members would be asked to extend the moratorium (video at 5:50). The briefing is filed as 26-1192.

The working group has started. At the Oct. 13 Council meeting, Watson said more than 200 people applied, 29 members were chosen and the group held its first meeting the Friday before. He said Gonzales-Gutierrez and Kashmann serve on it, and that the Council intends to keep working until it can regulate data centers like any other industry (video at 6:14).

A Denver member pressed Aurora. At the Sept. 28 Council meeting, Stacie Gilmore, whose district covers far northeast Denver, described the Trident plans as she understood them, including the number of backup diesel generators, and urged Aurora to adopt a moratorium like Denver's (video at 11:22).

What the mayor has said

Mayor Mike Johnston has not ruled out a permanent ban. "I think all things are possible," he told Denver7, adding that future rules could limit data centers by size, impact or location. Denver7 also reported that a 180,000-square-foot data center already built across from Elyria Park did not need Council review. Watson, whose district includes the site, told the station he does not expect two more planned buildings there to move forward.

What's next

• Denver: The working group will make recommendations, but any new zoning or code rules, and any extension of the moratorium, would need a Council vote. Watch the Community Planning and Housing Committee's agendas on our meetings page.
• Aurora: A final vote on its new zoning rules is still to come, and Coffman has said he will try the moratorium again, the Gazette reported.
• See every vote on 26-0431, and find your Council member on the district map.