Aurora city council rejects six-month data center ban as it pursues new regulations
Aurora's City Council rejected a proposed six-month moratorium on data center construction. Instead, the council voted to establish new development standards for data centers, addressing resident concerns about environmental impacts, energy consumption, and water use. Council members will now develop specific regulations, which may include banning evaporative cooling and revising zoning rules.
Aurora, Colorado's City Council voted 6-5 against an emergency resolution that would have placed a six-month moratorium on data center construction. The proposed ban, introduced by Council Member Amy Wiles, aimed to pause development while new standards were adopted. Mayor Mike Coffman cast the tie-breaking vote against the moratorium.
Instead of a ban, the council passed a resolution from Council Member Curtis Gardner to move forward with establishing development standards for data centers without a temporary halt on construction. This decision followed a two-hour heated discussion where residents, like Makenna Green and Arvin Martinez, voiced concerns about environmental impacts, strain on shared resources, and increased electricity and water consumption from new facilities.
Andrew Holder, Xcel Energy Colorado's director of community relations, clarified that energy impacts fall under the Public Utilities Commission's jurisdiction, not the city's, but emphasized the company's focus on community concerns. Council members now have 35 days to develop specific proposed regulations, which could include measures like banning evaporative cooling to conserve water and revisiting existing zoning rules for data centers.