Council adopts first reading of 18‑month moratorium on new data center facilities while staff crafts local rules

The City and County of Broomfield approved on first reading an ordinance establishing a temporary moratorium on acceptance and consideration of land-use applications for data center facilities meeting a 10-megawatt threshold.

City Attorney Nancy Rogers told council that the moratorium — proposed at 18 months or until regulations are adopted — would pause new or expanded data-center applications while the city conducts a cross-departmental review of code, utility and infrastructure impacts. Staff cited concerns that modern data centers (especially facilities supporting cloud computing and AI workloads) may present significantly different water-cooling, power demand and neighborhood impacts compared with earlier facilities.

Staff said the 10-megawatt threshold is intended to capture facilities likely to have neighborhood-level infrastructure impacts while excluding smaller enterprise sites; examples cited included an existing Chase data center at roughly 20 megawatts. The pause would not apply retroactively to existing operations or to minor non‑intensifying changes.

Council asked about fiscal and water impacts, and staff said revenue from existing data centers can be modest given redevelopment agreements and tax arrangements; however, water and electricity demand from large facilities can be material and warrants a comprehensive local review. Council approved first reading unanimously and scheduled the public hearing and second reading for July 7, 2026. Staff said it will engage with neighboring jurisdictions, utilities and community stakeholders during the moratorium period.