Denver Mayor Mike Johnston isn't ruling out a ban on data centers as the city works to write rules it didn't have before.
In an interview with Denver7 Investigates, Johnston said the city's one-year moratorium on new data centers is temporary, but what follows could be permanent.
"I think all things are possible. I think we're going to wait to see what our residents come back with as suggestions... I think that's possible that they would be limited to certain size or certain impact or certain locations," Johnston said.
The moratorium — passed in May — came after a 180,000-square-foot data center went up across from northeast Denver’s Elyria Park in one of the most underserved neighborhoods in Denver. The pause gives Denver time to write new rules, where data centers can go, and how much water and power they can use.
"When we have data centers that risk driving up people's utility bills and putting a huge demand on water supply in a city with a drought, we think that's a reason to have concerns," Johnston said.
Alfonso Espino, a local activist who grew up a block from the data center, was among those who fought the data center development.
"We believe that this is ground zero," Espino said. “People are sick and tired of our community being treated like we're just gonna accept everything.”
The neighborhood couldn't stop the data center from going up, but the fight changed what Denver did next.
"It was in fact a reaction to this data center that opened up the conversation about the implications to the whole city," Espino said.
Gap in city oversight
The data center also exposed what Johnston called a gap in the city's zoning code.
"Anyone could buy a piece of land next to your house and open a data center, and that seemed like a real miss for our zoning code," Johnston said.
Denver City Councilman Darrell Watson, who represents the Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, said CoreSite's data center didn't require a City Council review.
"Our zoning code, the land use that we have, has failed Globeville and continues to fail Globeville," Watson said.
CoreSite had plans for two more data centers on the same site. The moratorium halted those plans, and Watson said he doesn't expect them to move forward.
"I do not foresee additional buildings being able to be built on that site," Watson said.
Data center moratoriums happening across the country
Denver's pause didn't stay in Denver. More than a dozen Colorado communities have since passed their own moratoriums or are considering taking action. Longmont went even further, banning large data centers outright.
Denver7 Investigates built a database tracking this pushback across the country and found nearly 500 communities have moved to pause or ban data center growth.
"The moratorium is only a good first step if it results in something permanent," Espino said.
Denver announces working group on data centers
Espino is now one of the people Denver chose to help decide what comes next. He is serving on the city's 26-member working group of citizens and experts, which will recommend new data center policies to city leaders.
Those are recommendations; the next test is what city leaders put into law.
Denver leaders have said the moratorium on data centers will not lift until those new laws are in place.
CoreSite did not respond to Denver7 Investigates' questions about the data center moratorium in Denver or across the country.
