Lochbuie approves 5-year pause on data centers

Lochbuie has approved a five-year moratorium on new and expanded data centers, making it the longest such pause in Colorado, according to the Colorado Municipal League. Town leaders said the decision was a proactive step, even though no developers have approached the town with plans to build a data center.

The ordinance passed on a 6-1 vote by the Lochbuie Town Council. The lone councilmember to vote against the measure said the five-year timeframe was too long.

Lochbuie, located northeast of Denver near Brighton, recently celebrated the installation of its first streetlight.

Mayor Jamie Jeffrey said the town of about 10,000 people is growing but wants to be thoughtful about future development.

"Our motto is 'Small Town Spirit, Big Future,'" Jeffrey said.

The decision comes as communities across Colorado grapple with the rapid growth of data centers, which power artificial intelligence and other digital services.

Earlier this year, Denver announced it would pause new data center construction for one year. In Colorado Springs, residents spoke for 14 hours in an unsuccessful effort to stop "Project Taurus" before city officials approved the project.

In Lochbuie, town leaders considered a five-year pause on accepting applications for new or expanded data centers. Residents packed the meeting, with many speaking in favor of the temporary ban, including a 12-year-old who raised concerns about the town's water supply.

"We're already on water restrictions, first of all," the child said during public comment.

"The emails that we got from community members were in the hundreds, and I have never received that many emails on an issue," Jeffrey said.

Mary Lou Withrow, who has lived in Lochbuie for 30 years, said she became concerned after hearing conversations about data centers in nearby communities.

"They're just kind of popping up around us," Withrow said. "So I kind of did a quick post on the community web page, like, 'Hey, come to the town meeting.'"

After the vote, Withrow said she was encouraged by the turnout.

"I was so proud to see my community come together and stand strong on this one," she said.

Jeffrey said the moratorium is intended to give the town time to gather more information before making long-term decisions about data center development.

"I think that there's still a lot of research being collected and numbers being crunched and data being collected," she said.

According to Jeffrey, the biggest concerns residents raised during the process were water use and noise.

The mayor emphasized that the town was not responding to a specific proposal. Instead, she said leaders wanted to get ahead of an issue that has sparked debate in other Colorado communities.

"For now, our message is clear. You can go find a different small town to take advantage of, or some remote location that's going to allow you to put it in, but it's not going to be our town," Jeffrey said.