Littleton advances proposed six-month pause on data-center applications

Littleton City Council unanimously approved an ordinance on first reading Tuesday that would pause most new data-center development applications for up to six months. The pause is not yet in effect; a second reading and public hearing are scheduled for Nov. 3.

If adopted, the ordinance would bar the city from accepting, processing or approving applications for rezoning, site plans, subdivisions, use approvals, building permits and other development approvals to establish, construct or expand data centers. The pause would begin when the ordinance takes effect and last up to six months, ending sooner if a city ordinance regulating data centers takes effect. The council could also extend or end the moratorium earlier by ordinance, the draft ordinance says.

The draft defines data centers as buildings whose primary use is housing servers, data storage and related equipment for off-site users. It includes colocation, cloud-computing and cryptocurrency-mining facilities, but excludes server rooms and similar equipment primarily serving another use on the same property.

Applications determined complete before the ordinance was introduced on first reading would be exempt, as would projects with vested property rights and ordinary repair or maintenance that does not increase floor area, electrical capacity or water demand. Other applications, including those not complete by the cutoff, could be subject to the pause once it takes effect. The draft also allows a written hardship request for council consideration.

City staff recommended the temporary pause to give the city time to decide whether, where and under what standards data centers should be allowed. The staff report cites potential electricity and water demand, cooling noise, generator emissions and the scale of data-center buildings; it says the city’s land-use code lacks a distinct use category with tailored standards. Staff also acknowledged that a pause could delay investment and tax revenue.

At the meeting, the city attorney said the six-month period was chosen as a reasonable window for staff to study where data centers may be appropriate and develop any needed code changes. The attorney said current city code allows data centers in business centers and industrial parks, and as a conditional use in corridor-mixed districts.