Aurora City Council minority blocks consideration of data center moratorium in late-night vote
A six-vote minority on the Aurora City Council blocked reconsideration of a proposed moratorium that would halt new data center plans while the city develops regulations. Residents are opposing Vantage Data Centers’ planned 860,000-square-foot Trident facility, citing potential impacts on water supplies, electricity costs, neighborhoods and the environment.
The Aurora City Council fell one vote short of the seven-vote supermajority needed to reconsider a proposed data center moratorium during a late-night meeting. Mayor Mike Coffman said he would bring the same motion back at the council’s next regular meeting on Nov. 9. Residents criticized the council’s failure to halt new projects, while five council members voted against reconsideration.
The dispute is closely tied to Vantage Data Centers’ proposed 860,000-square-foot Trident facility on a 108-acre site near East 48th Avenue and the E-470 beltway. Coffman has called for the project to be stopped, and Vantage has asked for 90 days to find a site farther from neighborhoods. Aurora has separately banned evaporative cooling systems and is developing setback rules, while residents continue to raise concerns about water consumption, power demand, noise and electricity rates.