Westminster affirms large data centers are prohibited under current zoning
A July 27 resolution affirms the city’s current interpretation, but planned code and Comprehensive Plan amendments have no public schedule.
Westminster says large data centers are prohibited under the city’s current zoning rules, which do not list or define the use. The City Council affirmed that interpretation in a July 27 resolution rather than amending the zoning code.
The council adopted Resolution No. 20, titled “Adopting Zoning Interpretation Regarding Prohibition of Data Center Land Use.” Planning staff described the resolution at the Aug. 11 Planning Commission meeting as affirming the planning department’s existing interpretation.
Staff said Westminster’s zoning code is permissive: uses not listed as permitted are not allowed. The code contains no definition of “data center” and does not list it among permitted use categories. The Comprehensive Plan also does not mention data centers or identify them as an employment land use, staff said. The city attorney’s office reviewed and agreed with the planning department’s interpretation.
Staff distinguished large facilities where computers operate continuously with few or no employees from “data processing” uses involving office workers. One former Westminster business used the term “data center” but was approved about 15 years ago as a data-processing use, staff said. The business is no longer operating.
The city plans to amend its Unified Development Code and Comprehensive Plan to make the prohibition clearer. Staff described the amendments as a clarification of existing policy, not a proposal to allow data centers.
No data-center-specific drafting milestone, public hearing or adoption date was identified in the records reviewed. Westminster’s official Agenda Center and calendar list regular City Council and Planning Commission meetings, but no schedule for the amendments. The city’s development guidance says Comprehensive Plan amendments generally require public hearings.
Planning staff said a business-license applicant identifying its use as a data center would be denied. If an unpermitted facility were identified, staff said it would require investigation as a possible land-use violation.
The resolution and planned amendments have not been tied to a specific pending proposal. They also do not resolve how the city would treat every facility or a previously approved use described differently in its permits. Until amendments are drafted and scheduled for public review, the July 27 interpretation is the city’s operative guidance for developers and residents.