Colorado city council backs year-long data center moratorium after proposed project withdrawn
The Brighton City Council approved moving forward with a one-year moratorium on data center applications after residents raised concerns about water, power, noise, air quality and infrastructure. The decision came as an application for a proposed 155-acre, eight-building data center campus near Lochbuie was withdrawn.
Brighton City Council voted to extend a proposed six-month pause on data center applications to one year. Council members said the moratorium would provide time to study water, wastewater, power, noise, air quality, conservation and infrastructure impacts and develop rules for future projects.
The action followed extensive public comment about a withdrawn application for the Silo or Willard Property project, a proposed 155-acre campus with more than 2.5 million square feet of data center space. Residents from Brighton and neighboring Lochbuie expressed concerns about the project's scale and potential effects on nearby homes, while some speakers cited possible jobs, tax revenue and infrastructure investment. Lochbuie previously approved its own five-year data center moratorium.