Arvada City Council roundup: new water treatment plant, fast track for affordable housing, moratorium on data centers
The Arvada City Council approved an 18-month moratorium on data centers using more than 10 megawatts of power. The pause will allow city officials to study data centers’ impacts on water, energy, noise and local communities before developing policy recommendations.
The Arvada City Council voted to impose an 18-month moratorium on data centers that consume more than 10 megawatts of power. Smaller facilities may be exempt when the city’s director of community and economic development determines that their computing infrastructure is accessory to a primary use, such as a hospital, telecommunications facility or business server room.
Residents supported the moratorium, citing environmental and infrastructure concerns associated with large hyperscale facilities used for cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Councilmember Randy Moorman said the pause would give the city time to understand the rapidly changing technology and consider protections related to water use, energy consumption and noise. City staff will consult residents, industry representatives and experts before recommending future policies on data center siting and resource use.