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Adams County adopts 24‑month moratorium on data center siting and construction
Summary
After a public hearing, the Adams County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted Resolution 2026‑25, imposing a temporary 24‑month moratorium on acceptance and approval of permits for data center siting, to allow a comprehensive review of potential land‑use, utility and environmental impacts.
The Adams County Board of Supervisors on June 15 adopted a 24‑month moratorium on the siting and construction of data centers within the county, voting 4–0 (one supervisor absent) to approve Resolution 2026‑25.
The board opened a public hearing at 9:23 a.m. and heard oral comments from residents who urged the board to form a study committee, solicit experiences from other counties, and research potential impacts on agricultural land, natural resources and utilities. The hearing closed at 9:31 a.m., and the resolution was adopted on a motion by Supervisor Tony Hardisty, seconded by Supervisor Leland Shipley. The original resolution was placed on file in the Auditor’s office.
The adopted resolution defines “Data Center” broadly to include facilities, campuses or groups of facilities used primarily for storage, processing, management or transmission of digital data and related infrastructure such as servers, cooling systems, backup power systems, substations and transmission facilities. The resolution states that, "The County shall not accept, process, approve, or issue" building permits, zoning permits, conditional use permits, special use permits, site plan approvals, subdivision approvals or "any other land use or development approvals related to the construction, establishment, expansion, or operation of any data center within the County" for the duration of the moratorium.
The moratorium takes effect immediately upon adoption and remains in effect for 24 months unless earlier repealed, modified or extended by board action. The resolution also allows that individual applications may be submitted for consideration by the board during the moratorium period.
Board members and public commenters framed the moratorium as a pause to allow the county to develop comprehensive zoning and permitting standards that address impacts identified in the resolution, including land use compatibility, electricity transmission, water and wastewater demand, road infrastructure and emergency services. No written objections to the moratorium were filed before the hearing.
Next steps indicated in the record: the board directed that the county undertake the described review and consider development of zoning ordinances and permitting requirements for data centers; specific timelines and the composition of any study committee were not specified in the meeting record.
