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Residents urge Laramie City Council to consider moratorium as concerns about data centers grow
Summary
Multiple residents urged the Laramie City Council to adopt a permanent moratorium on data centers, citing water use, noise, surveillance and local control; city staff said no proposals have been received and a work session on possible code changes is forthcoming.
Dozens of residents told the Laramie City Council they want the city to pause new data-center development until officials can study potential impacts to water, noise, land use and local authority.
"I respectfully request that each of you consider supporting the proposed ordinance — a permanent moratorium on the establishment, construction or conversion of any building or structures for the use of the data center," said Rick Martin, a local resident, during the public-comment period.
Other speakers raised additional concerns. A neighbor described escalating deliberate noise on 15th Street and urged stronger enforcement; another speaker, who said he has worked with the Powder River Basin Resource Council but was speaking personally, recommended the city examine local clean-energy and community-solar options to hedge utility-price and water risks. Peggy McCracken said a site near the city's open space would be "a prime location for a data center" and warned of daily quality-of-life impacts if one were built nearby.
At the end of public comment the city manager told the council and the public that staff has received "no proposals, no design plans, no implications for any data centers at this point." The manager and other staff recommended a dedicated work session to review how city code currently treats data centers and to explore zoning or code changes to provide additional protections.
Council members asked staff to schedule and prepare materials for that work session; the city manager said staff is prioritizing that review but did not give a firm date.
The public comments combined appeals for an outright moratorium with requests for technical study, joint city–county coordination and clearer rules about water, annexation and taxation. Council members, in turn, signaled they want a thorough staff briefing before considering regulatory changes.
