City data center moratorium gets public hearing date
The Grand Junction City Council scheduled an Oct. 21 public hearing on a proposed one-year moratorium that would temporarily halt new data center applications and related city reviews. The moratorium is intended to give city staff time to update zoning rules, while residents and officials debate its effects on development, water use and the electrical grid.
The Grand Junction City Council unanimously scheduled an Oct. 21 public hearing on a draft ordinance that would impose a one-year moratorium on data center development. The proposal would block the acceptance, processing and approval of applications for data centers and prevent city departments from conducting related pre-application work, but it has not yet taken effect.
City Manager Mike Bennett said the pause would allow staff to study how the city’s zoning code should address facilities with electrical loads of at least one megawatt. Residents generally supported using the time for planning, though some warned that overly restrictive rules could discourage technology investment. Mesa County adopted a similar moratorium Sept. 29, and Council Member Cody Kennedy said the city and county should coordinate their policies because they share water resources and the electrical grid.