Aurora City Council to vote on data center moratorium following community pushback

Aurora City Council is preparing to vote on an indefinite moratorium covering new data center applications following sustained community opposition to Vantage's proposed Trident facility. The company offered to consider sites farther from residential neighborhoods if the city agreed to a 90-day pause on new development requirements, but Mayor Mike Coffman rejected that proposal and called for immediate guidelines protecting residential areas.

The council previously rejected a six-month moratorium, with Coffman casting the deciding vote, but later approved the first reading of an ordinance restricting data centers in mixed-use office and institutional areas near homes, schools and assisted living facilities. The new moratorium would require seven votes and likely would not take effect until February; it would not stop the Trident project because that project has already received approval. The nonprofit Join Unite continues to advocate for stronger restrictions.