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Commissioners debate data centers, crypto mining and legal options for bans or moratoria
Summary
At the May 6 Douglas County work session commissioners discussed splitting the initiated text amendment, whether to separately address data centers and crypto mining, and whether to seek legal guidance on moratoria or outright prohibitions; staff said the initiated amendment acts like a de facto moratorium until code changes are adopted.
Douglas County commissioners used a May 6 work session to press staff for more detail on data centers and digital asset retrieval (often discussed as crypto mining), and to ask legal and procedural questions about moratoria or bans in the unincorporated county.
Carl and staff described how data centers range widely in scale, from small containerized systems to hyperscale facilities that can occupy hundreds of acres and, in some designs, use evaporative cooling systems that draw large volumes of water. "Some of these systems are major consumers of water and electricity," Carl said, noting that the county has not received any formal applications for data centers or digital asset retrieval uses.
Commissioners expressed skepticism that the county’s unincorporated area could feasibly support hyperscale data centers because of water, sewer, road and emergency-service constraints. "I really struggle to see how we could accommodate the kinds of uses we're talking about in the unincorporated area at all," said Commissioner Kelly, who suggested annexation to a city would likely be necessary for major projects because of infrastructure needs.
The board broadly supported splitting the initial combined text amendment so staff could pursue two separate tracks: one focused on battery energy storage systems (BESS) and a separate track for data centers and crypto/digital asset retrieval. Several commissioners asked staff to seek legal guidance about whether the county could lawfully adopt an outright ban or whether non-permitted status and a text amendment functionally achieve the same effect. Carl said initiation of the text amendment means standalone BESS and the other uses cannot be acted on in the interim because they are not listed in the permitted-use table.
On moratoria, some commissioners said the current initiated text amendment provides the pause they want; others asked staff to return with legal analysis about what an express moratorium or a prohibition would require and whether state law or case law would limit such a step. Commissioners also asked staff to coordinate next steps with the Clarion diagnostic due to report in roughly 60–90 days and to plan public engagement and planning-commission review before any final code changes.
No formal votes occurred during the work session. Staff said it will continue stakeholder outreach, consult legal counsel on possible prohibitions or moratoria, and bring a draft or status update to the board after the Clarion diagnostic and additional research.
The work session recessed to the 5:30 business meeting, which will include public comment opportunities on future proposals.
